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By the same Author, 

A companion-volume, entitled 

HISTORICAL QUESTIONS 

WITH ANSWERS, 

Embracing Ancient and Modern History. 

210 pages. Price 2s. Gd. 

*** The two volumes are also issued in one, 
under the title of 

HISTORICAL & MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 

42S pages. Price 4s. Gd. 



CHAMBERS’S 






MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS 


WITH ANSWERS 



EMBRACING SCIENCE, LITERATURE, ARTS, ETC. 



BY 


W. CHAMBERS, 


F.R.S.E., F.G.S. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. L1PPINCOTT & CO 

EDINBURGH: \V. k R. CHAMBERS. 

1869. 












PREFACE. 


The present work, Miscellaneous Questions, and a 
companion, though distinct, work of similar construction, 
entitled Historical Questions, are designed to fulfil 
an important purpose in Education —that of bringing 
clearly into view the leading facts which are supposed 
to he gained through a long course of instruction. 
Without proposing to supersede the elementary hooks 
usually employed, they offer a certain test of what is 
presumed to have been previously learned. With the 
two works in their hands, Schoolmasters, Tutors, 
Governesses, or Parents, may at once satisfy themselves 
respecting the degree of knowledge on a variety of 
subjects attained by the young persons under their charge, 
and for whose intellectual culture they feel a special 
interest. At the same time—in this age of Competitive 
Examination—the works offer to candidates for Official 
Appointments the means of readily and perspicuously 
calling to remembrance answers to such questions in 



PREFACE. 


iv 

History, Science, Art, Literature, and Knowledge 
generally, as are likely to be asked of them; thereby, 
perhaps, saving the reperusal of a multiplicity of books 
which they would otherwise have to consult and 
patiently study. 

As regards the Answers to the Questions, every effort 
has been made to render them brief and of easy acqui¬ 
sition, in regular consecutive order according to sub¬ 
jects ; while the facts they present, based on the 
most recent authorities, are just those which, from their 
interest and importance, are expected to be less or more 
borne on the mind of every ‘well-informed person’ of 
either sex. 


W. C. 


CONTENTS, 


TAGS 

ASTRONOMY. 1 

GEOGRAPHY. 12 

GEOLOGY—MINERALOGY. 21 

CHEMISTRY—HEAT—THE ATMOSPHERE-SOUND... 2S 

LIGHT—ELECTRICITY—MAGNETISM. 38 

MATTER AND MOTION—WATER—MECHANICS. 42 

THE VEGETABLE CREATION. 50 

THE ANIMAL CREATION. 50 

ETHNOLOGY. GO 

CHRONOLOGY. 60 

LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, &c. 70 

GREEK AND ROMAN PHILOSOPHY AND LITERA¬ 
TURE. 83 

MEDIEVAL LEARNING AND ARTS. 94 

CONTINENTAL LITERATURE.101 

ITALY .101 

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL .102 

FRANCE .103 

GERMANY, &C . 108 

THE NETHERLANDS, &C.Ill 























yi CONTENTS. 

FACE 

ENGLISH LITERATURE.113 

EARLY ENGLISH WRITERS. .114 

EARLY SCOTTISH WRITERS. 115 

ERA OF ELIZABETH, JAMES I., AND CHARLES I.— 

1553 TO 1649 .11S 

ERA OF THE COMMONWEALTH TO THE REVOLUTION— 

1649 to 1689 . 121 

ERA OF WILLIAM III., ANNE, AND GEORGE I.— 

1689 to 1727 .124 

ERA OF GEORGE II.—1 727 TO 1760 .127 

ERA OF THE EARLY PART OF THE REIGN OF GEORGE III.— 

1760 to 1800 .130 

ERA OF THE CONCLUSION OF THE REIGN OF GEORGE III., 

AND REIGNS OF GEORGE IV., WILLIAM IV., AND 
VICTORIA—I SO I TO 18 G 5 .137 

THE FINE ARTS.144 

PAINTING.144 

SCULPTURE, &C.152 

ARCHITECTURE. 158 

MUSIC. 103 

THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION—JURISPRUDENCE.166 

CONCLUDING MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS.177 

INDEX.ISO 



















CHAMBERS’S 

, . 

MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


Astronomy. 

1. State the origin or Ckreat First Cause of all things — 
God, the Creator and Preserver, by whose good Providence 
we live, and move, and have our being. 

2 . What is the term ordinarily employed to signify the Creator 
and His works ? —A common expression is Nature; we also 
speak of the Laws of Nature. 

3 . How can we learn what are the Laws of Nature ? —By 
studying various branches of science, such as Astronomy, 
Natural Philosophy, Botany, Zoology, Chemistry, and the 

like. 

4 . What does astronomy teach ? —The nature and motions 
of the heavenly bodies, including our Earth. 

5 . Is that an ancient science ?—Yes ; but it has been greatly 
improved in modern times. 

6. What were the notions generally entertained among ancient 
nations respecting the heavenly bodies ? —Anciently it was 
believed that the earth was a fixed body, around which the 
sun, planets, and stars revolved at different distances. 

A 

















MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


x 2 



Solar System. 

7 . What has been found to be the true explanation ?—That 
the sun is a central body, round which the earth and other 
planets revolve, the whole forming the Solar System. 

8 . How many planets are there ? —More than ninety; the 
principal ones are eight in number—namely, Mercury, Venus, 
the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. 

9 . What are the planets ? —Like the earth, they are all 
thought to be worlds, deriving light and heat from the sun. 

10 . Are the eight principal planets all of one size ? —No ; they 
greatly differ in size—Jupiter is the largest. 

11 . Are the stars in our solar system ?—No ; they are situated 
far beyond it. 

12. What are the stars ? —The stars are suns, at an incon¬ 
ceivable distance from the earth, and are believed to have 
planets revolving round them. 

13 . How do we know a planet from a star?— The planets 
shine with a steady lustre, while the stars twinkle. 














ASTRONOMY. 


3 


14 . Mention another distinction. —The planets are seen to 
change their places among the other heavenly bodies, but the 
stars have seemingly each a fixed place in the heavens, and 
are accordingly called fixed stars. 

15 . Is it not usual £0 call the 'planets stars ? —In a general or 
wide sense, all the smaller heavenly bodies are called stars. 

16 . Give an example. —Venus is spoken of as a morning or 
evening star, according to the time of its appearance ; and the 
same is said of Jupiter. 

17. Are the planets distinguishable by any particular colour ? 
—Venus is a pure sparkling white ; Mercury, a dullish blue ; 
Saturn, a reddish tinge ; Mars, a fiery red ; Jupiter, white. 
The most brilliant of the whole are Venus and Jupiter. 

18 . Why do we not see the stars during the day ?—Because 
they are lost_ in the blaze of 
sunlight. 

19. How are the stars arranged ?— 

For convenience of description, 
astronomers group them in con¬ 
stellations. 

20 . Mention a well-known con¬ 
stellation. —The cluster of stars 
called Ursa Major, or the Great 
Bear, but which is familiarly 
known as the Plough. 

21 . Where is the constellation 
Ursa Major seen ? —In the northern 
part of the heavens. 

22 . Mention another constella¬ 
tion. —There is one called Orion, 
from a fabulous hero of antiquity ; three stars in a straight 
line in this constellation are called Orion’s Belt. 

23 . Is there any other noted constellation ? —One, consisting of 
four stars, is called the Southern Cross, but it is not seen in 
the northern part of the world. 

24 . How can we learn the names and situations of the con¬ 
stellations ? —By studying celestial globes and maps on which 
they are pictured. 

25 . There is a star called the North or Pole Star; how do we 
know it? —The North Star is situated nearly due north, 
and is nearly in line with two stars in the Great Bear or 
Plough, usually called the Pointers. 



The Constellation of the Plough, 
and North Star, 





4 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


26. Of what service is the north star ? —At night it is useful 
in guiding travellers and mariners, by shewing them the 
northerly direction. 

27. Which is the largest and brightest of all the stars ? —Sirius, 
otherwise called Canicula or the Dog-star* 

28. Where is Sirius situated ? —In the constellation Cards 
Major, or the Great Dog, below the feet of Orion. 

29. What was at one time believed respecting the Bog-star ?— 
That it caused particularly hot weather for a number of days 
in summer, which, from that circumstance, were called the 
Dog-days. 

30. Is that belief exploded ?—Entirely so. People yet speak 
familiarly of the Dog-days ; but it is now known that though the 
star appears in summer, it has no influence on the weather. 

31. A broad white streak is seen in the sky at night ; what is 
it called ? —It is called the Galaxy or Milky-way. 

32. Of what does it consist ? —The Milky-way is composed 
of stars, but at so remote a distance that they appear only as 
a luminous.haze in the firmament. 

33. What is meant by firmament? —It is a term signifying 
the vast expanse of sky visible from the earth. 

34. Is there any other phrase employed? —Yes ; we say { the 
canopy of heaven, 5 from its resemblance to a great rounded 
canopy overhead. 

35. What is the colour of the firmament ? —In clear weather 
it appears to be blue ; but the blueness is chiefly an effect of 
vapour in the air ; for the drier the air is, the blue is always 
the darker ; and, in very dry climates, and on the tops of high 
mountains, it becomes almost black. 



A Comet. 


36. What does the solar system include besides the planets ?— 
It includes comets, and also satellites. 

37. What is the appearance of comets ?—A comet usually 
resembles a star with a long streaming tail. 


ASTRONOMY. 


5 


38. Are there many comets? —There are many hundreds, hut 
they are seldom seen from the earth. 

39. What is the motion of comets ? —They travel in all direc¬ 
tions ; sometimes approaching the sun, and at other times 
going far into space. 

40. What is their nature ? —They are generally composed of 
a light matter, through which the stars can he seen. 

41. When comets appear, do they injuriously affect the earth? 
—They are not found to do any injury, and are "believed to 
fulfil some useful purpose in creation. 

42. What are satellites ? —They are bodies attending on or 
revolving round planets ; they are sometimes called secondary 
planets. 

# 43 * Are there many satellites ? —Jupiter has four, Saturn has 
eight, Uranus has four, our earth has one, and Neptune has one. 



The Moon, photographed.* 


44. What do we call our satellite ? —The Moon. 

45. Is not the sun, as a central body, very much larger than 
any of the planets ?—Yes ; very much larger. It is one 
million four hundred thousand times greater than the earth. 

46. What is the size of the earth ? —Its diameter at the equator 
is 7925 miles, and its circumference or girth is 24,900 miles. 

47. What is the earth's distance from the sun ?—Nearly 
ninety-two millions of miles. 

48. What is the size of the moon? —Its diameter is only 2160 
miles, or little more than a fourth of the diameter of the earth. 

49. What is the shape of the earth ?—It is a round hall or 
glohe, shaped like an orange, being a little thicker when 
measured across the equator than from pole to pole. 

50. Has it the appearance of a globular body ? —No; to 
ordinary observation it appears like a level plain. 

* Copied by permission of Messrs Smith, Beck, and Back, from 
"Warren De la Hue’s photograph. 




6 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


51. How do we know it is round ?—By looking to the sea 
on a clear day, when we see the tops of approaching vessels 
first appear, and gradually the lower parts. 

52. Standing on the shore , how far can you see along the 
surface of the ocean ? —At most from eight to nine miles. 

53. Are all the planetary bodies round ?—Yes ; they are all 
globular in form, and so are the satellites. 

54. What sustains the planets in the heavens ? —They are 
sustained in their appointed courses by two contending 
forces, one drawing them towards the sun, and the other 
urging them in a direction that would carry them away from 
the sun. 

55. How were these forces impressed on them? —These forces 
were impressed on them by the Creator, and are among the 
most wonderful of His works. 

56. Give an example of the drawing forces. —When an object 
falls to the ground, it is because the earth, as the larger body, 
draws the small one to it. 

5 7. What is this drawing force usually called? —It is called 
gravitation. 

58. Give an example of the other force. —When a carriage- 
wheel goes rapidly round on a wet day, it throws sparks of 
dirt from it. In the same maimer, a grinding-stone whirling 
in contact with water throws off a shower of spray. 

59. What is this repelling force ordinarily called ?—It is 
called centrifugal force—that is, the impulse to fly from the 
centre. 

60. Where in Scripture are we reminded that the earth is 
unsupported in empty space ? —Job, speaking of the power , 
and goodness of God, says: ‘ He hangeth the earth upon 
nothing.’ 

61. How do gravitation and centrif ugal force act in the case of 
the satellites ? —Just as the earth revolves round the sun, so 
do the satellites revolve round their respective planets. 

62. Explain how the sun appears to rise in the morning , to 
wheel over the earth, and set in the evening. —This is only a 
deception of the senses ; it is the earth that is in reality 
turning round, but we can neither see nor feel it moving. 

63. Mention a familiar example of this kind of deception .— 
When we are gliding smoothly along in a railway-train, we 
are apt to think that the fields and other objects are moving 
past us. 



ASTRONOMY. 


7 


64. But we speak of the sun rising and setting, and say the 
same thing of the moon. —These are only convenient phrases ; 
all that is now meant by them is, that the snn or moon seems 
to rise and set. 

65. What are the motions of the earth ? —The earth has two 
distinct motions ; it rotates on its own axis, and it revolves 
round the sun. 

66. What is meant by rotating on its axis'? —That it goes 
round in the manner of a ball on a spindle. 

67. What time is occupied by this rotation? —Twenty-four 
hours, which form a day. 

68. What is this motion ordinarily called ? —The diurnal 
motion. 

69. Describe the diurnal motion. —The diurnal motion is 
from -west to east. In the morning, the darkened portion of 
the earth turns towards the sun, which then seems to rise, and 
daylight ensues. In the evening, that part of the earth which 
was in the west sinks in the east, and there is darkness by the 
apparent setting of the sun. 

70. Then, the sun is always shining on some part of the 
earth ? —Yes; the sun lights up different parts in turn ; when 
it is morning with us, it is evening somewhere else ; when we 
are sleeping in the darkness of night, others are in the blaze 
of noonday. 

71. What is signified by noon ?—Twelve o’clock at mid-day, 
when the part of the earth we are upon is most fully opposite 
the sun. 

72. What is that position of the sun relative to our part of the 
earth called ? —The sun is said to be on our meridian. 

73. What length of time does the revolution of the earth 
round the sun occupy ? —365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 
49 seconds, which form a solar year. 

74. What is caused by the annual revolution ? —The change 
of seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, according 
to the relative position of the earth and the sun at different 
periods. 

75. What is meant by the orbit of the earth ? —It is the path 
which it traverses in its annual revolution. 

76. What is the form of this orbit; is it a circle or an oval ? 
—The earth’s orbit is of an oval form. 

77. In going round the sun, what is the posture of the earth ?— 


8 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


The earth’s axis does not stand perpendicular to the plane in 
which its orbit lies, but has a slight obliquity or inclination ; 
it always, however, keeps nearly the same inclination, and for 
a long period points sensibly in the same direction. 

78. What is the consequence of this position of the earth’s 
axis ? —That the several parts of the earth are more turned 
towards the sun at one part of the orbit than at another, and 
thus experience a change of seasons, and a difference in the 
length of days and nights. 

79. If the earth's axis were perpendicular to the plane of its 
orbit , what would ensue ? —There would be no change of seasons; 
but a belt of the earth round the middle, between the two 
ends of the axis, would have perpetual summer; while the 
parts towards the ends would suffer perpetual winter. 

80. What are the ends of the axis called ? —The North and 
South Poles. 

81. What is the meaning of the term pole ? —It is a Greek 
word, signifying a pivot or turning-point. 

82. JVhat is the ecliptic ? —It is an imaginary circle which 
the sun appears to traverse in the heavens in the course of a 
year, in consequence of the earth’s motion in its orbit. 

83. What is the equator ?—It is an imaginary line round the 
middle of the globe, midway between the two poles. 

84. How is the ecliptic situated with respect to the equator ? — 
The ecliptic crosses the equator in a slanting or oblique 
direction at two points, so that one half of it is to the north of 
the equator, and the other half to the south. 

85. What are the two crossing points called ? —The equinoxes, 
or equinoctial points; because when the sun is in these points, 
the days and nights are equal all over the earth. 

86 . How far does the sun ever recede north or south from the 
equator as he travels in the ecliptic ? —To a distance depending 
on the obliquity of the earth’s axis, which is rather more than 
one-fourth of the distance of the equator from the pole. 

87. How are these distances marked on globes and maps ?— 
By two lines or circles: the one to the north being called the 
Tropic of Cancer, and the one to the south the Tropic of 
Capricorn. 

88. What are the Arctic and Antarctic Circles ? —Two ima¬ 
ginary lines round the globe, at the same distance from the 
poles that the tropics are from the equator. 

89. How do these circles divide the earth's surface ?—Into five 


ASTRONOMY. 


9 


belts or regions, called zones, distinguished by differences of 
climate. 

90. TVhich is the warmest region ? —That lying between tlie 
two tropics, called the torrid zone. 

91. Explain the reason. —Because the sun’s path lies within 
the region of the heavens exactly opposite ; twice a year he is 



exactly overhead, and is never vertically above any other part 
of the earth’s surface ; so that his rays, here falling perpen¬ 
dicularly, or nearly so, give the earth the full benefit of their 
heat. 

92. In what parts of the earth is the temperature generally 
most moderate ?—In the two belts called the Temperate Zones, 
lying on opposite sides of the torrid zone, and between it and 
the polar circles. 

93. Why ? —Because the rays of the sun always fall obliquely, 
and thus produce less heat than in the torrid zone. 

94. What are the regions within the Arctic and Antarctic 
Circles called ? —The Polar Kegions, or Frigid Zones. 

95. Why ?—Because as the earth goes round in its annual 
motion, the obliquity of its axis causes each pole to be 
completely turned away from the sun, so that the sun never 
rises for months together, and during the whole of this period 
the climate is intensely cold. However, for a few months 
annually, the poles are constantly turned towards the sun, so 
that it never sets. 

96. Is there not great heat during the time that the sun never 
sets ?—No ; for it only goes round and round the lower part 
of the sky, and never rises high enough to produce much effect, 
or be able to melt the ice and snow formed during the long 
winter. 





10 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


97. There is an imaginary belt or zone in the heavens embra¬ 
cing the ecliptic, what is it called ?—It is called the Zodiac. 

98. How has the zodiac been represented ?—It has been 
divided into twelve parts, each marked by a sign or pictorial 
figure, representing a constellation. 

99. What are the signs of the zodiac ?—They are known by 
Latin names—Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, 
Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces. 



100. These names have been translated and put into rhyme, for 
the sake of fixing them in the memory. Repeat the rhyme. 

The Ram, the Bull, the heavenly Twins, 

And next the Crab the Lion shines. 

The Virgin and the Scales, 

The Scorpion, Archer, and He-Goat, 

The Man who holds the watering-pot. 

And Fish with glittering tails. 

101. What is the use of these signs of the zodiac ? —They 
serve to indicate the apparent situation of the sun in the 
heavens at any particular time of the year ; we speak of the 
sun entering Aries, and so on. 

102. What is the substance of the moon ? —It is believed to 
consist of rocks and other opaque materials. 

103. If the moon be opaque, how should it give any light ? —It 
gives only a reflected light, or a portion of that which it 
receives from the sun shining upon it. 

104. What are the dark and luminous streaks and spots in 
the moon ? —They are mountains, valleys, and shadows. The 
more brilliant parts are the mountain-tops ; the darker streaks 
are the deep valleys. 

105. Is the moon believed to be inhabited ?— No. 

106. What are the motions of the moon ? —It has three 




ASTRONOMY. 


11 


motions ; it revolves on its own axis; it revolves round the 
earth ; and, along with the earth, it revolves round the sun. 

107. What space of time does it take to revolve on its axis ?— 
Exactly the time it takes to revolve round the earth; 28 days, 
7 hours, 43 minutes, and 11 seconds. 

108. What is this time called ? —A lunar month, from luna, 
a Latin word for the moon. 

109. What is the result of the moon talcing the same time to 
go round on its axis as to revolve round the earth ? —That we 
never see more than one side of it. 

110. What else is remarkable about the moon ? —Its changes 
of appearance, or phases, in its monthly circuit. 

hi. State the chief phases of the moon. —At new moon it is 
invisible ; it appears as a half-moon at the end of the first, full 
moon at the end of the second, decreasing to half-moon at end of 
the third, and disappearing at the end of the fourth quarters. 

112. What is its appearance during its first and last quarters ? 
—It has an elegant crescent-like appearance. 

113. What is that dim appearance of a moon which is some¬ 
times seen lying within the crescent of new-moon ? —The darkened 
part of the moon faintly visible by the sunlight reflected from 
the earth upon it. 

114. What causes an eclipse of the moon ? —The interception 
of the sun’s light by the earth; the darkness which creeps 
over the moon being the earth’s shadow. 



An Annular Eclipse of the Sun. 


115. What causes an eclipse of the sun ?—The passing of the 
moon between the earth and the sun. 

116. To what extent do eclipses vary ? —Sometimes they are 
very partial, as when only the edge of the moon or sun is 
darkened ; and sometimes they are complete. 

117. What is an annular eclipse of the sun? —When the 
moon covers the face of the sun, excepting the edge all round, 
so as to leave a ring of light. 




12 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


118. Why is it called annular ?—From annulus , the Latin 
word for a ring. 

119. Bo the moon, 'planets, and stars exercise any influence 
ever human affairs?—No; eclipses and certain positions of 
the planets were at one time thought to portend good or 
evil; hut all such notions are found to be visionary. 

120. Was there not a class of persons who pretended to tell for¬ 
tunes by the stars ? —Yes; they were called Astrologers. In the 
present day no intelligent person believes in fancies of this kind. 

121. Has the moon any influence over insanity ?—Formerly 
there was a belief to that effect, and hence the term lunacy; 
now this belief is abandoned, though the words lunacy and 
lunatics remain in use. 


Geography. 

1. What is taught by Geography ?—A knowledge of the 
surface of the earth. 

2. What is the extent of the earth's surface ? —About 
200,000,000 of square miles, about two-thirds of which are- 
occupied by water, leaving only one-third for dry land. 

3. Into what is the land divided? —Into continents and 
islands. 

4. What are continents ? —Very large stretches of land, of 
which there are strictly only two—one comprising Europe, 
Asia, and Africa, and the other consisting of North and South 
America. But it is customary to regard Europe, Asia, Africa, 
and the two Americas as separate continents. 

5. What are islands ?—Portions of land, of lesser or greater 
size, surrounded by water. 

6. Mention some of the principal islands ? —Australia, 
Tasmania, New Zealand, Cevlon, Borneo, Java, Mauritius, 
New Guinea, Madagascar, Cuba, Jamaica, Madeira, Great 
Britain, Ireland, Newfoundland, and Iceland. 

7. Into what are the waters on the globe divided ?—Into 
oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers. 

8. What is an ocean ? —A large extent of sea. 

9. Give some examples. —The sea which separates Europe and 
Africa from America is called the Atlantic Ocean ; America is 
divided from Asia by a larger sea, called the Pacific Ocean; and 
there are also the Northern and Southern, and Indian Oceans. 

10. Give some examples of seas ? —The Mediterranean, which 
lies between the south of Europe and Africa; the Bed Sea, 



MAP OF THE WORLD. 


GEOGRAPHY. 


13 

















































































14 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


which lies between a part of Africa and Asia ; and the Baltic, 
which lies in the north of Europe. 

11. What is a portion of land nearly surrounded by water 
called ? —A peninsula. 

12. What is a point of land jutting out into the sea called ? 
—A cape or promontory. 

13. What is a bend of the sea into the land called ? —A hay 
or gulf. 

14. What is a narrow connecting portion of sea called ? —A 
strait or channel. 

15. Mention some of the features of the land. —Mountains, 
hills, plains, and valleys. 

16. Name some well-known mountains. —The Alps, which 
bound the north of Italy; the Pyrenees, between France and 
Spain ; the Rocky Mountains, in North America ; the Andes, 
in South America ; and the Himalaya Mountains, in India. 

17. What is a hemisphere T —A hemisphere is half a globe. 
On maps the globe is usually represented in two hemispheres 
—the Eastern Hemisphere, in which are Europe, Asia, and 
Africa; and the Western Hemisphere, in which are North 
and South America. 

18. What enables us to tell the position of any place on the 
globe ? —A knowledge of its latitude and longitude. 

19. Explain degrees of latitude. —The earth, from each side 
of the equator to the pole, has been divided into 90 spaces, 
called degrees of latitude—90 north and 90 south. 

20. What is the extent of one of these degrees ?—About 6 gl 
English miles. 

21. How are these degrees marked on maps ?—By lines drawn 
parallel to the equator, with figures at their extremities stating 
the degree of each. 

22. How is a degree divided ? —Into minutes and seconds. 

23. What are degrees of longitude ?—They are spaces reckon¬ 
ing east and west. 

24. From what point are degrees of longitude measured ?—In 
the United Kingdom they are measured from Greenwich, 
near London—so many to the east, and so many to the 
west. 

25. Give an example in defining the situation of a place. _ 

Edinburgh is situated in 55 degrees, 57 minutes, 20 seconds 
north latitude; and 3 degrees, 10 minutes, 30 seconds west 
longitude. 


GEOGRAPHY. 


15 


26. Mention a shorter way of expressing degrees , minutes , and 
seconds. —Certain markings are used—as a small 0 for degrees, 
a single point' for minutes, and two points " for seconds. 

27. Where is this hind of measurement of special service ?— 
It is of great service to mariners in performing voyages across 
the ocean. By knowing the exact latitude and longitude of their 
ship, they are able to steer their course to the desired port. 

28. How can they tell where they are ? —By astronomical 
observations taken by means of certain instruments. 

29. JVhat instrument used by mariners always points north¬ 
wards ? —The Mariner’s Compass, which consists of a mag¬ 
netised needle or slip of metal poised so as to turn freely in 
all directions. 



The Mariner’s Compass. 


30. What makes the needle point northwards ? —An attractive 
influence exercised by the earth, the cause of which remains 
one of the mysteries of nature. 

31. How many points are there in the mariner's compassT-~ 
There are four cardinal points, North, South, East, and West; 
and twenty-eight intermediate points, such as north-east^ 
north-west, and so on. 

32. Does the needle point due north ? —No ; it points a little 
west of north, and shifts in a manner necessary to be known 
by sailors. 

33. How are the cardinal points situated on a map ? —The 
upper part of the map is the north ; west is on our left, and 
east on our right hand ; and south is at the bottom. 

34. What do maps usually represent ? —They shew countries 
with their principal mountains, rivers, cities, and towns ; also 
the ocean-boundaries of the greater divisions of the globe. 

35. What is the largest river in the world ? —The Amazon, 
in South America, which is 4000 miles long and 150 miles 
broad at the mouth, and which is navigable for 3360 miles. 


16 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


36. Mention some large rivers in North America. —The 
Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and St Lawrence are well known 
for their vast size, hut there are many others. 

37. Mention two well-known rivers in Ireland. —The Shannon 
and the Liffey. 

38. Mention some beautif ul lakes in Ireland. —The Lakes of 
Killarney. 

39. What are the principal rivers in Europe ? —The Rhine, 
Rhone, Danube, Seine, Volga, Don, Dnieper, Elbe, and Tagus. 

40. What are the principal rivers in Great Britain ?—The 
Thames, Severn, Humber, Tyne, Mersey, Tweed, Clyde, and 
Tay; but all these are insignificant in comparison with the 
great American rivers. 

41. Mention some large lakes in North America. —Superior, 
Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario. 

42. Mention some grand falls of water in North America .— 
The Falls of Niagara. 

43. What is the nature of the water of the ocean ? —The 
water of the ocean, and all the seas connected with it, is 
salt, and unfit for drinking ; by evaporation, table-salt is 
made from it. 

44. How deep is the ocean ?—In the Atlantic and several 
other places, the ocean is some miles in depth; it generally 
becomes shallow towards the shore. 

45. Is the ocean at rest ?—No ; the ocean and the seas and 
bays connected with it are constantly agitated by tides. 

46. Explain the nature of the tides. —They consist of an 
alternate rising and falling of the water. In rising, the water 
is said to flow, and in falling to ebb; it flows and ebbs twice 
in about twenty-five hours. 

47. Are the tides regular in their action ? —No ; in the space 
of about fifteen days there is a particularly high or spring 
tide, and a very low or neap tide. 

48. What causes the tides ?—The combined action of the 
sun and moon, but more particularly the moon. 

49. Does the water rise equally high everywhere at the same 
time ? —No; the tides begin to rise in the ocean, and reach 
the lesser seas and bays, later according to circumstances ; but 
there is this remarkable thing about the tides, that when it is 
high water at a place on one side of the globe, it is high water 
at the place exactly opposite to it on the other. 


GEOGRAPHY. 


17 


50. What sea is noted for having very little tide ? —The 
Mediterranean, in consequence of the narrow inlet from 
the ocean at the Straits of Gibraltar. 

51. What agitates the ocean besides the tides ? —The ocean is 
much affected by winds, and also by currents which flow in 
different directions. 

52. Mention a remarkable current. —The Gulf Stream, which 
flows from the Gulf of Mexico on the coast of America. It 
divides into two currents, one of which flows towards the 
north-western shores of Europe, and, by its warmth, greatly 
modifies the severity of winter. 

53 * When opposite currents meet or encounter rocks , what 
ensues ? —Whirlpools, which are in some places dangerous to 
mariners. 

54. Mention two remarkable and dangerous whirlpools .— 
Charybdis in the Straits of Sicily, and the Malstrom on the 
coast of Norway. 

55. Has any nation an exclusive property in the ocean ?—No ; 
it is the common property of mankind, all being free to use it. 

56. Does this common right extend over all seas and bays to the 
shore ? —No ; according to a generally acknowledged law, every 
country having a seaboard exercises a right of property and 
jurisdiction over the sea within three miles of the shore. 

57. What has regulated the division of the earth into separate 
countries ? —Such division has mostly arisen from the conquest 
of one people over another, but also from their peaceful settle¬ 
ment. 

58. What constitutes a nation ? —A group of people who are 
mostly of the same origin, speak the same language, and live 
under a distinct form of government. 

59. What are the principal countries in Europe ?—The 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, France, Spain, 
Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Austria, 
Prussia, Germany, which consists of several states, Denmark, 
Sweden and Norway, Russia, Turkey, and Greece. 

60. Does each of these comprehend only one nationality or race ? 
—It is not altogether so. 

61. Give an example. —The United Kingdom comprehends 
England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, all differing somewhat, 
but now happily blended as regards a common interest and 
government. Within Germany, Russia, and several other 
countries, there are similar distinctions. 

B 


18 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


62. What is a city called which contains the seat of govern¬ 
ment f —The capital, or metropolis. 

63. What is the capital of the United Kingdom 1 —London. 

64. What is the capital of France 1 —Paris. 

65. Mention some other capitals. —Madrid, of Spain ; Lisbon, 
Portugal; Florence, Italy; Rome, Papal Dominions; Berne, 
Switzerland ; Brussels, Belgium ; Amsterdam, Holland ; 
Vienna, Austria; Berlin, Prussia ; Frankfort, Germany; 
Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden and Norway ; 
St Petersburg, Russia ; Constantinople, Turkey ; Athens, 
Greece. 

66. What is the highest mountain in Europe ?— Mont Blanc, 
which rises to a height of 15,781 feet. 

67. What are the principal seaport towns in England ?— 
Liverpool, Bristol, Southampton, Hull, and Newcastle. 

68. The chief naval stations ? —Portsmouth, Plymouth, and 
Chatham. 

69. The chief manufacturing towns ? —Manchester, Preston, 
Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Birmingham, and Newcastle-on- 
Tyne. 

70. The chief university towns ?—Oxford and Cambridge. 

71. The chief cathedral tovms ? —Canterbury, York, Winches¬ 
ter, Gloucester, Salisbury, Lincoln, Litchfield, and Carlisle. 

72. What island lies south of England ?—The Isle of Wight. 

73. TVhere is Wales situated ?—West of England. 

74. What is its general character ? —Wales, usually divided 
into North and South Wales, is mountainous and picturesque. 

75. Where is Scotland situated ? —North from England, from 
which it is divided chiefly by the river Tweed and Cheviot 
Hills. 

76. How do ice distinguish the leading divisions of Scotland ? 
—-As consisting of the Highlands and Lowlands. - 

77. Where are the Highlands situated ?—In the north-west 
of Scotland. They form a mountainous and picturesque 
region. 

78. What islands lie west of Scotland ?—The Hebrides, or 
Western Isles. 

79. What islands lie north of Scotland ?—The islands of 
Orkney and Shetland. 

80. Mention some of the cities and towns in Scotland. — 


GEOGRAPHY. 


19 


Edinburgh, the ancient capital; Glasgow, a large commercial 
nnd manufacturing city; Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen, and Inver¬ 
ness ; also Leith and Greenock, seaports. 

81. What is the district of Scotland adjacent to the boundary 
of England called ? —The Scottish Border. 

82. What are lakes called in Scotland ?— Lochs. 

83. Mention two of the more beautiful of these lochs .—Lochs 
Katrine and Lomond. 

84. What is the highest mountain in Great Britain ? —Ben 
Nevis, in the Highlands of Scotland. 

85. What is the height of Ben Nevis ? —4406 feet. 

86. Where is Ireland situated ? —West from England, from 
which it is separated by St George’s Channel and the Irish 
Sea. 

87. What is the general character of Ireland ?—That of a 
green and fertile island, with a mild climate. 

88. What island lies between England and Ireland ?—The 

Isle of Man. 

89. Mention some of the cities and towns in Ireland. —Dublin, 
the ancient capital; Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Belfast, and 
Londonderry. 

90. What foreign possessions pertain to the United Kingdom ? 
—The more important are Canada, New Brunswick, and 
Nova Scotia, in North America ; the West Indies ; the Cape 
of Good Hope, in Southern Africa; Australia, and New 
Zealand ; also India. 

91. Which are the principal countries in Asia ?—Asiatic 
Russia, Tartary, Persia, Japan, Hindustan, China, and Asiatic 
Turkey. 

92. What is another name given to Hindustan ? —India. 

93. In what part of Asia is India situated ? —In the south, 
where it forms a large peninsula. 

94. How is India governed ?—The greater portion being 
now a foreign possession of the United Kingdom, is under 
British rule, with the chief seat of government at Calcutta. 
Two other important cities in India are Bombay and Madras. 

95. Name a large river in India. —The Ganges. 

96. What large island lies near the southern coast of India ?— 
Ceylon. 

97. How is Asia usually spoken of? —As the East, from being 
situated to the east of Europe. 

98. What are the Asiatics or people of Asia sometimes called ? 


20 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


—Orientals, from the Latin word oriens , rising ; by which is 
meant the country in which the sun seems to rise. 

99. What hind of country is China ?—It is very large ancl 
populous, and noted for the production of tea, which is 
exported in great quantities. 

100. What country of note is included in Asiatic Turkey ?— 
Syria. 

101. For what is Syria remarkable ? —It was the scene of 
events mentioned in Scripture history; its principal city is 
J erusalem. 

102. What is the most interesting country in Africa ?— 
Egypt, which is remarkable for its early history and anti¬ 
quities. 

103. What river flows through Egypt ? —The Nile, which 
every year overflows its banks, and renders the soil richly 
productive. 

104. Of what race are the natives of Africa ?—They are 
mostly negroes, and are in general in a barbarous condition. 

105. How far distant is the continent of America from Europe 1 ? 
—About three thousand miles. 

106. Why is America sometimes called the Nev) World ?— 
Because it was not discovered till about the end of the fifteenth 
century. 

107. Who were its discoverers ? —Christopher Columbus, 
Sebastian Cabot, and Amerigo Vespucci, from the last of 
whom it was named. 

108. Of what extent is America ?—It consists of two great 
stretches of land, called North and South America, unitedly 
extending several thousand miles. 

109. What unites these ? —A long narrow neck of land, 
called the Isthmus of Darien. 

110. What are the principal countries in North America ?— 
Canada and other British possessions, the United States, and 
Mexico. 

hi. What are the principal countries in South America ?— 
Peru, Chili, Paraguay, Guiana, and Brazil, the Argentine 
Confederation, and Bolivia. 

112. In what respect do the people of North and South America 
chiefly differ ? —Excepting Mexico, the people of North America 
are mostly of English origin, while those of South America, 
and also of Mexico, are generally of Spanish or Portuguese 
extraction. 

113. What are the principal cities in North America ?—New 


GEOLOGY—MINERALOGY. 


21 


York, Philadelphia, Washington, Boston, St Louis, Cincin¬ 
nati, Richmond, New Orleans, Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec 
—these last three being in Canada. 

114. What city is the seat of government of the United States ? 
—Washington, in the District of Columbia. 

115. What is meant by the West Indies ?—A series of islands, 
the larger of which are Cuba, St Domingo, and Jamaica. 

116. Where are the West Indies situated? —In the bmad 
bend of the Atlantic, between North and South America. 

117. What is reckoned to be the population of the whole world ? 
—A thousand millions of people, about 280 millions of whom 
belong to Europe. 


( 


Geology—Mineralogy. 

1. What is meant by Geology? —The science which is con¬ 
cerned with the structure of the earth’s crust. 

2. Explain what is meant by the earth's crust. —The out¬ 
ward portion of the globe, which is composed of rocks, beds of 
clay, sand, and other substances. 

3. Do the whole of these substances lie in confused heaps ?— 
No ; they are found to lie in a certain order or arrangement. 

4. What do we gather from a study of these circumstances ? 
—We learn much of the past history of the globe, besides a 
knowledge of materials that are useful in the arts. 



Unstvatified Rocks. 


Stratified Rocks. 


5. In what forms are rocks usually found?— Some are 
found in layers or strata, one above another, and are said to 
be stratified; other rocks are in huge irregularly-shaped 
masses, and are said to be unstvatified. 

6. What is thought to be the cause of these distinctions ?— 









22 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


It is believed tliat stratified rocks were disposed in layers as a 
sediment from water, and therefore they are called aqueous or 
sedimentary rocks; while the unstratified were produced by 
the agency of fire, and are called igneous. 

7. What is sometimes a special condition of the igneous rocks ? 
—In certain circumstances they have been thrown up through 
openings and chinks, in which case they are called volcanic. 

8. What is the general character of unstratified rocks ? —They 
are hard and sparkling ; one kind, well known for its beauty 
and durability, is called granite. 

9. Mention one of the volcanic kind. —Basalt, which appears 
in columnar masses at the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, at 
Staffa in Scotland, and other places. 

10. Give the names of some of the stratified rocks. —Clay- 
slate, limestone, sandstone, chalk-beds, and ironstone. 

11. What is found in some of the stratified rocks ? —The 
remains of plants and animals. 

12. How did these remains become incorporated in stratified 
rocks ?—While the rocks were forming by the settlement of 
loose materials in water, animals and plants became embedded 
in the deposit. 

13. Do these animal and vegetable remains retain their original 
form ?—Many of them do, but they have all been changed 
into stone, and in this condition are called fossils. Palaeontology 
—a term from the Greek palaios , old, and logos, a discourse— 
is the branch of geology which treats of this subject. 

14. What is learned from an examination of such remains ?— 
A knowledge of what kinds of animals and plants existed 
on the earth during a long course of past ages. 

1$. Mention one of the larger-sized quadrupeds found in a 
fossilised state ? —The Palseotherium, which varied in bulk 
from that of a hog to a rhinoceros. 


Palaeotherium. Ammonite. 

16. Mention a well-known fossil shell .—The Ammonite 
shaped like a horn, and common in the south of England. 





GEOLOGY—MINERALOGY. 


23 


17. How did the rocks which contain these animal remains 
\become buried at depths below the surface of the Earth ? —The 
globe has undergone many convulsions, submerging some 
layers of rock, and bringing others towards the surface; and 
seas and land have, in course of time, changed places. 

18. How have mountains come to exist %—In some instances^ 
by the eruption of igneous rocks ; in others, masses have been 
left prominent by some agency which has worn down or 
denuded the rest of the surface. 

19. Are there various agencies concerned in wearing down the 
surface ? —Yes ; the air and running water are constantly 
wearing down and carrying away parts of the solid rocks. Ice, 
in the form of glaciers and icebergs, has also denuded the 
surface. 

20. How has sea-sand been formed ? —Sea-sand, like clay and 
various kinds of earth, is formed of the disintegrated materials 
of certain rocks. 

21. What produces the rounded stones found in the beds of 
rivers and elsewhere ? —Pieces of rock rounded by attrition. 

22. Explain this. —The pieces of rock have been rolled about 
in water till the comers have been rubbed off. 

23. What are these rounded stones called ?—When large, they 
are called boulders , when smaller, pebbles, and 'when of a 
very small size, lying in beds, they are spoken of as gravel. 

24. What is meant by Silurian rocks ?—Strata of sedimentary 
rocks, many of them limestone, called Silurian, because found 
in a part of England where a people called the Silures once 
lived. 

25. What is conglomerate ?—Rocks or large stones composed 
of small and large pebbles firmly cemented together ; such 
pebbles being the gravel of an early sea. 

26. What is another name for conglomerate ? —Pudding-stone, 
from its resemblance to the mixture in a plum-pudding. 

27. What are calcareous rocks ? —Those partaking of the 
nature of limestone, so called from calx, the Latin word for 
lime. Chalky and limey soils are said to be calcareous. 

28. What is marble ? —Marble is the name given to various 
kinds of limestone rocks, which admit of a fine polish; some 
varieties contain small fossilised plants and animals. 

29. What is ‘ Parian Marble V —A white variety of marble 
found in the island of Paros, in the iEgean Sea, and used by 
the ancient Greeks for their statues. 


24 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


30. What are siliceous rocks ?—Those partaking of the 
nature of flint, the Latin word for which is silex. Sandy 
soils are said to be siliceous. 

31.. What is quartz?—A. white sparkling rock, in which 
gold is often found. 

32. What are downs ?—Large tracts where sand has accu¬ 
mulated in heaps, which are sometimes covered with grass. 

33. What is a clayey soil called ?—An aluminous or argilla¬ 
ceous soil. 

34. What is the origin of the word aluminous ? —Aluminous 
is from the Latin alumen, signifying alum, which is one of the 
bases of clay. 

35. What is the origin of the word argillaceous ? —Argillaceous 
is from the Latin argilla, signifying white clay. 

36. Besides silex , lime , and clay, what other substances are 
found in the soil f—In most instances, the soil contains decayed 
vegetable or animal matter, with some other ingredients, the 
■whole constituting the earth of gardens and fields. 

37. What is a delta ? —A triangular-shaped tract of land 
found at the mouth of some rivers, and so called from its 
resemblance to the Greek letter delta (a). 

38. What is meant by Mineralogy ?—The department of 
science which treats of minerals. 

39. What is meant by minerals ? —Minerals is the general 
name for all the different substances that make up the earth’s 
crust, such as clay, sand, limestone and other rocks, flint, 
black-lead, salt, coal, and the like. 

40 What are ores ? —Ores are those minerals from which 
metals can be extracted by smelting. 

41. What is smelting ?—Boasting ores with fire, by which 
the pure metal flows from the earthy part of the mineral. 

42. What are the 'principal metals ? —Gold, silver, iron, lead, 
zinc, copper, tin, nickel, and antimony; but there are many 
others. 

43. Are all metals produced by smelting ? —All except gold, 
which is found in a pure state; also copper and silver, which 
are found pure in some places. 

44. What is coal ?—A dark-coloured, inflammable sub¬ 
stance, properly called fossil-coal, because it is dug from the 
earth. 

45. Of what is fossil-coal composed ?—Chiefly of vegetable 
matter, compressed into a compact mass. 

46. How can vegetable matter have become sunk so as to form 


GEOLOGY—MINERALOGY. 


25 


coal ? —By the submergence of land in one of the convulsions 
which have caused the sea to rush in and cover the land. 

47. Of what species of vegetable matter does coal usually 
consist ?— Of forests of trees and ferns, upon the quality of 
which the richness of the coal depends. 

48. In digging for coal and other fossils, whether does it become 
cold or warm as we descend ? —It becomes the more hot the 
lower we descend into the earth. 

49. What belief is entertained from this fact ? —That the 
centre of the globe is in a state of very great heat. 

50. How is the central heat of the globe manifested on the 
surface ? —By volcanoes and hot mineral springs. 

51. What are volcanoes ? —Mountains which, through open¬ 
ings, occasionally throw up burning matter or lava, together 
with stones, ashes, and, in some instances, mud. 



Mount Etna, in Sicily. 


5 2. What is the opening of a volcano called ?—The crater. 

53. How is the burning matter ejected from the crater ?— 
Sometimes it is thrown to a height in the atmosphere, 
accompanied with dense smoke ; at other times, it flows as 
a stream of burning lava down the sides of the mountain, 
destroying fields and houses in its course. 

54. When the lava cools, what is its usual appearance ?— 
That of a hard black rock, but porous, or full of small holes. 







26 MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 

55. Are there many volcanoes ?—They are some hundreds in 
number. 

56. Which are the more remarkable in Europe ? —Etna in 
Sicily, Vesuvius in Italy, and Hecla in Iceland. 

57. In what part of the earth are volcanoes most numerous ? 
—In South America. 

58. Do volcanoes ever occur in the sea 'Yes; they sometimes 
break out in the bed of the ocean, and throw up materials 
which form volcanic islands. 

59. Are there any extinct volcanoes ? —There are many such ; 
some may be seen in Auvergne in France, with their craters, 
resembling great basins covered with green turf. 

60. What is the origin of the term volcano ?—It is from Vul¬ 
can, a heathen deity who was supposed by the ancients to reside 
under Mount Etna, engaged in forging thunderbolts for Jupiter. 

61. Why are certain springs called mineral springs ? —Because 
they contain a quantity of some soluble mineral, such as 
various kinds of salts, iron, and lime. 

62. What are the springs called that contain iron ? —Chaly¬ 
beate springs, from chalybs, the Greek word for steel; they 
are also called ferruginous springs, from ferrum } the Latin 
word for iron. 

63. How are mineral substances imparted to springs ? —The 
water dissolves them in passing through rocks and other 
strata that contain them, and if the rocks are hot, the conse¬ 
quence is that the mineral water'Is warm. 

64. What is petroleum ?—Natural oil, which gushes in 
springs from the earth, and is sometimes spoken of as naphtha. 

65. Where are these oil-springs found ?■—In Burmah and 
other parts of Asia, France, Italy, and North America. 

66. How is the oil formed in the earth ? —It is believed to be 
a result of the earth’s internal heat acting on beds of a rich 
kind of coal. The heat may be said to distil the oil from 
the coal—perhaps first raising a gas, which is reduced to a 
liquid state by the pressure of the earth. 

67. Is petroleum or naphtha an object of manufacture ? —Yes, 
it has latterly been made from petroleum-coal, which is dug 
in Scotland ; the oil so produced and refined being generally 
known as parafine-oil, which is burned in lamps. 

68. What are geysers' ?—Boiling springs in Iceland, in which 
the water is ejected in a column to a great height, the force 
being probably the steam generated low down by the heat. 


GEOLOGY—MINERALOGY. 


27 


69. What are earthquakes ? —Disturbances in tbe crnst of the 
earth, sometimes only slight tremblings, but at other times 
violent convulsions accompanied with loud noises. 

70. What is supposed to be the cause of earthquakes /—Vol¬ 
canic action, by which, according to geology, many changes 
have been effected on the surface of the globe. 

71. Is geology an ancient science /—No; it is of compara¬ 
tively modern origin, and new discoveries, in- it are constantly 
being made. 

72. Were ancient nations acquainted with mineralogy /— 
Only in a limited way. They knew of certain ores which they 
worked for purposes of art. 

73. Substantiate that fact by a quotation from Scripture. —In 
Deuteronomy, eighth chapter and ninth verse, it is said of 
the Hebrews, that they shall have 1 a land whose stones are 
iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass/ 

74. What is brass ? —A composition of copper and zinc. 

75. What is bronze ? —A composition of copper and tin. 

76. For uhat is bronze much used /—Bronze is much 
employed in fabricating casts of statues and objects of an 
ornamental kind. 

77. What is pewter /—A mixture of brass, lead, and tin. 

78. What is tinsmith!s solder ? —A mixture of lead and tin. 

79. What are such composite metals called /—They are called 
alloyed metals or alloys. 

80. Is the gold of coinage alloyed /—Yes ; it consists of about 
eleven parts of gold and one part of copper, the copper alloy 
being added to give hardness. 

81. How does the infusion of copper alter the colour of gold ?— 
It gives it a reddish tinge ; if the mixture consists of gold 
and silver, the colour is a delicate yellow. 

82. Is there any metal mixed with the copper coinage of the 
United Kingdom? —Yes; the copper coinage is a mixture of 
copper and nickel—the nickel giving great hardness. 

83. Was there not at one time a belief that the baser metals 
could be transmuted into gold? —That strange belief was once 
entertained, by a set of enthusiasts, who laboured to discover 
the art of making gold. 

84. What were those enthusiasts called /—Alchemists. 

85. Although alchemists failed in gold-making , were their 
labours useless ?—No ; the alchemists made a number of dis¬ 
coveries concerning the properties of matter, and so laid the 
foundation of the science of Chemistry. 



28 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


Chemistry—Heat—Atmosphere— 
Sound. 

1. What is meant by Chemistry ? —The science which 
treats of the elementary properties of substances, and 
their changes. 

2. What did the ancients consider to be the Elements ?—They 
spoke of fire, air, earth, and water as the four elements. 

3. Were they right in saying so ? —No ; fire is only 
an extreme condition of heat, air is a mixture of several 
elements, and so are earth and water. 

4. How many elementary substances are now Tcnoum ?— 
Chemistry has made known about sixty. 

5. What is their nature? —The greater number are metals; 
five are gases, or fluids in the form of air ; the others can only 
be described as non-metallic. All the objects we see around 
us, including the air we breathe, are compounds of some of 
these elements. 

6. How have they been compounded? —Such has been the 
■work of nature—all has been adjusted in a scheme of compre¬ 
hensive Beneficence. 

7. How are these compounds discovered ?—Practical chemists 
analyse them in their laboratories. 

8. What is Chemical Analysis ?—The disunion or separation 
of the elementary ingredients of a body. 

9. How is chemical analysis effected ?—By a great variety 
of ingenious operations, in many of which heat performs an 
important part. 

10. Have discoveries of this land proved valuable ?—Exceedingly 
so. Besides extending a knowledge of nature, the discoveries 
of chemists have made known many useful medicines; also 
colouring matters and other preparations which are of great 
service to mankind. 

11. Mention some of these useful preparations. —Soap for 
washing, which is made chiefly from the union of an alkali 
called soda with tallow. Another is carburetted hydrogen 
gas, which is extracted from coal, and used for lighting 
houses and towns. 

12. What is chemical affinity ?—The natural attraction 
of different kinds of matter for each other, by which they 


CHEMISTRY—HEAT—THE ATMOSPHERE—SOUND. 29 

combine to form another body; water being an example of a 
combination of hydrogen with oxygen. 

13. What is chemical decomposition ? —The dissolving of 
bodies into their original elements. 

14 * Where have we an example of this ? —In the dissolution 
of animal substances when buried in the earth. 

15. Is it possible to transform a liquid into a solid body ? 
—Yes ; for example, the syrup of the sugar-cane can be 
transformed into sugar, a solid dry article. 

16. In what manner does the liquid syrup assume this 
character ? —It crystallises. 

17. What is crystallisation ? —A spontaneous arrangement 
of particles into regular fixed shapes. 

18. Are there other instances of crystallisation? —There are 
many such; but-none is so beautiful as that often seen in 
flakes of snow, which are of various regular forms. 



Flakes of Snow, magnified. 


19. What is vitrifaction ?—The process of converting certain 
materials into glass by fusing them together by heat. 

20. What materials are used for the making of glass ? —Sand 
or flint, and some alkaline salts. 

21. Is the art of glass-making ancient ?—Yes ; but it is only 
in modern times that it has been brought to a high degree of 
perfection, as is seen in the finer kinds of crystal. 


22. Of what gases is the atmosphere composed ? —Chiefly 
nitrogen, with oxygen, and a small quantity of carbonic acid— 
the nitrogen is nearly four to one of the oxygen. 

23. But is not the oxygen the vital principle of the air? —Yes ; 
but it needs a strong dilution of nitrogen ; oxygen, however, 
is the great supporter of animal life, and maintains combustion. 

24. Explain combustion. —Combustion is the combining of 
some substances with oxygen, attended with red heat, and 
usually with flames, whence it follows that the fire will go out 
if deprived of oxygen. In blowing a fire, it is the rush of 
oxygen, which is the true cause of the fierce blaze. 

25. What is the cause of rust in iron ?—Oxygen entering into 












30 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


combination with the surface of the metal, the combination 
being promoted by moisture ; rusting is an ordinary term for 
the oxidising of iron. 

26. Is the common air deteriorated by breathing? —It is. 
Pure air is chemically changed in the act of breathing, and 
what we exhale has lost its oxygen, and is loaded with 
carbonic acid gas. 

27. Is carbonic acid gas unwholesome ?—Inhaled, even in 
small quantity, it is very injurious to animal life; but, on the 
contrary, it supports vegetation. 

28. Where are the injurious effects of breathing bad air felt ? 
—In close rooms where several persons are sleeping or sitting ; 
this is a common cause of fevers and other illnesses. 

29. What is caloric ? —It is a term sometimes employed to 
signify heat, and is from the Latin word color, heat; when 
anything produces heat, it is said to be calorific. 

30. What is latent heat ? —Heat which is concealed in a 
body, and does not manifest its presence under ordinary 
circumstances. 

31 .Is the development of fire by friction, and by the striking 
of a flint on steel, a result of latent heat ? —No ; that opinion 
was once entertained, but is now abandoned. 

32. What, then, produces the heat ?— It is supposed to be 
caused by the violent arresting or retardation of motion. 

33. Explain this more fully. —Motion—as, for example, the 
motion of a wheel on an axle—being greatly retarded by 
friction, or suddenly arrested, as in the case of a steel striking 
a flint, heat is the consequence, and sparks of fire are probably 
produced. 

34. What do we feel in the absence of heat ?—The sensation 
of cold. 

35. What is frost ?—A very low degree of heat, which 
turns water to ice, and this begins to take place when the 
thermometer indicates thirty-two degrees. 

36. What is ice ? —Water frozen into a hard and compact 
mass. Certain fresh-water lakes in North America produce 
ice in perfection for the cooling of beverages. 

37. IVhat is a thermometer ? —An instrument for measuring 
heat, consisting of a glass tube with mercury, which rises or 
falls according to the surrounding temperature. 

38. What is the scale of the thermometer ?—It consists of 
equal divisions, called degrees, made alongside the tube, and 
numbered from o or zero, at the bottom, to 212 at the top—32 


CHEMISTRY— HEAT—THE ATMOSPHERE—SOUND. 


31 


degrees is tlie freezing-point, 98 blood-heat, and 212 the 
boiling-point. 

39. Is that the only scale ? —No ; on the con¬ 
tinent of Europe other scales are employed ; but 
this, which is called the Fahrenheit thermometer, 
from the name of its constructor, is the one used 
in Great Britain, and chiefly referred to. 

40. What is meant by radiation of heat ? —The 
process by which heat is given off. Heat is 
radiated or sent off in rays from the sun, from 
a fire, or from any heated object. 

41. Does the absorption of heat in any way 
depend on colour ? —Yes. Black garments more 
readily absorb heat than those which are white. 

42. Where does this fact influence the mode of 
dressing ? —In India and other hot countries, 
where the natives dress themselves chiefly in 
light white garments. 

43. Does colour affect the radiation of heat ? — 

Yes ; a black surface gives off heat better than 
a light one ; for example, pipes for warming 
houses give off more heat when they are black 
than when they are light-coloured. ^ 

44. What are bodies called which receive and \—s 

convey heat readily ?— Good conductors of heat. Thermometer. 

45. Give an example of a good conductor of heat. 

—Metals are good conductors, as is felt in the handle of 
a metal tea-pot, in which a piece of wood, as being a bad 
conductor of heat, has to be interposed. 

46. Do not woollen garments give warmth ?—It is a popular 
error to say they do ; they only, as being bad conductors of 
heat, keep the animal warmth from leaving us. 

47. At what temperature is water most dense ?—At about 40 
degrees. When heat is applied, the water expands, and 
afterwards beginning to boil, flies off as steam. 

48. What takes place when the temperature of water sinks 
below 40 degrees',? —The water expands until it reaches 32 
degrees, when it assumes the form of ice. 

49. How is the expansion of water in freezing familiarly 
exemplified ? —In the bursting of water-pipes during frost. 

50. What promotes evaporation ?—The heat of the sun, and 

artificial heat. 

51. Give an example of evaporation. —When a wetted piece of 








32 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


cloth, is hung out to dry, the moisture is exhaled or carried 
off by evaporation into the atmosphere. 

52. Does evaporation go on upon a great scale in nature ?— 
Yes; from sea and land, and from all animals, there is a 
constant exhalation, but more in hot than cold weather. 

53. What causes the moisture on the inside of glass-windows ? 
—The exhaled breath and other moisture is condensed on the 
glass in consequence of the cold outside. 

54. If it he very cold outside, what ensues ?—The moisture on 
the glass is frozen, and assumes a feathery appearance. 

55. Why do ivalls and paved passages inside of buildings 
sometimes have a damp appearance ? —Because their cold con¬ 
denses the floating moisture in the atmosphere; this is seen 
in mild but moist weather. 

56. What is dew ? —The condensation of atmospheric mois¬ 
ture on blades of grass or other objects, during night. 

57. What is hoar frost ? —Dew frozen by cold. 

58. What becomes of all the moisture exhaled into the atmo¬ 
sphere? —It forms fogs, mist, and clouds, which are only 
vapour condensed by cold, and so rendered visible. 

59. Why do fogs, mist, and clouds disappear in fine weather ? 
—They are dispelled by heat, their moisture resuming an 
invisible condition. 

60. Why does mist sometimes disappear suddenly while rolling 
along hills'? —The mist, in its passage, comes into a warmer 
atmosphere, and so vanishes. 

61. What is a common cause of fogs at sea ?— Sudden chilli¬ 
ness of the atmosphere, by which the exhaled vapour assumes 
the form of mist. When the sea happens to be of a mild 
temperature, the fogs become intense. 

62. When mists and clouds are not dispelled by heat, what 
usually ensues ? —They drop down as rain or snow. 

63. But why do heavy rains occur in warm as well as in cold 
weather ? —The reason is, that the atmosphere becomes over¬ 
saturated with moisture, and must necessarily yield it as 
rain. 

64. What is the use of rain ? —Rain is of the greatest value 
in irrigating and refreshing the earth, in supporting vegetation, 
and in supplying water for the use of man and the lower 
animals. 

65. What is snow ?—Particles of water frozen in the atmo¬ 
sphere ; when rain-drops are frozen in falling, they form 
hail. 


CHEMISTRY—HEAT—THE ATMOSPHERE—SOUND. 33 

66. Is frost of any particular use ? —It is of value in 
destroying hosts of insects and other vermin which would 
he injurious to vegetation ; also in mouldering down the 
hard clods of earth in newly-tumed-up fields and gardens. 

67. Is snow of any use ? —When it lies one or two feet 
deep for any length of time, it shelters tender vegetation from 
the severity of frost, and is so far of service to agriculture. 

68. Does sea-water freeze ? —Yes ; hut very slowly and imper¬ 
fectly, and is seen chiefly in the polar regions. 

69. Is the ice of sea-water salt ?—It is less so than sea-water ; 
in freezing, a portion of the saline particles is rejected. 

70. Is there any heat in ice ? —To the touch ice always con¬ 
veys the sensation of extreme cold, hut hy the thermometer 
ice can he shewn to vary in having more or less heat like other 
bodies. 

71. Gan ice be made to serve the purposes of glass ? —Yes ; when 
sawn into thin slabs, it may serve as glass for windows ; hut 
this can take place only in excessively cold countries, where 
the rays of the sun are too feeble to overcome the frost. 

72. What are glaciers ?—Huge masses of ice and snow 
which slide down from lofty situations to valleys; the word 
glacier is from glace, the French word for ice. 

73. What is meant by glacial action ? —It is a term used by 
geologists to signify the effect produced on the surface of rocks 
and mountain-sides hy the grazing of glaciers during their 
descent; the collection of gravel and other matter brought 
down hy glaciers is called a moraine. 



Icebergs. 


74. What are icebergs ?— Floating islands of ice, which are 
seen chiefly in the ocean in extreme northern and southern 
latitudes, and are very dangerous to navigators. 

75. Whence do icebergs come ?■—From the polar regions, 
where they break off from the ends of glaciers that protrude 
into the ocean, and float about till they are gradually melted. 

c 


34 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


76. Are there any means for discovering the approach of ice¬ 
bergs ?— One method consists in watching the fall of tempera¬ 
ture in the atmosphere ; for the icebergs absorb heat for a 
considerable distance. 

77. How high are the clouds ? —They float in the atmosphere 
from a few hundred feet to six miles above the surface of 
the Earth. 

78. Where are the greatest number of clouds ? —In hilly 
countries and over high mountain-ranges. 

79. Why should hills cause clouds ? —The cold tops of hills 
and mountains condense the floating moisture in the atmo¬ 
sphere into clouds; and as clouds produce rain, hilly countries 
are always the most rainy. 

80. Has there been any classification of clouds ? —Yes ; for the 
sake of distinction they have been divided into several classes. 

81. Mention the names of the principal classes of clouds .— 
The Cirrus, or thin feathery cloud on the blue sky ; the 
Cumulus , or great heap of cloud, resembling a mass of white 
wool ; and the Stratus, or general haze. These leading 
varieties are sometimes combined, producing the Nimbus, or 
dark, heavy rain-cloud. 

82. When is the nimbus seen in its most perfect form ?— 
During thunder-storms, when the atmosphere is densely 
■overcast. 

83. What height does the atmosphere reach?—It wraps round 
the whole Earth to the height of about forty-five miles. 

84. Is the atmosphere of uniform consistency ?—No ; it is 
most dense at the lowest level, and grows gradually thinner 
as it ascends. At the height of seven miles it is too thin to be 
breathed. 

85. Why are the tops of high mountains perpetually covered 
with snow ? —Because the air is so thin at these heights that it 
cannot retain the heat; the consequence being snow and 
glaciers. 

86. Where does the air best retain the sun's heat ? —Where it 
is dense, and to a certain degree moist, and it is there that 
vegetables grow most luxuriantly. 

87. What is the pressure of the atmosphere ?—It presses 
with a weight equal to about fifteen pounds on every square 
inch. 

88. Is this pressure sustained by animals ?—All animals, 
including human beings, sustain this degree of pressure. 

89. Why do we not feel the pressure of the atmosphere? —■ 


CHEMISTRY—HEAT—THE ATMOSPHERE—SOUND. 35 


Because it presses equally on all sides, and up as well as down ; 
the air in the cavities and small vessels of the body therefore 
acts as a spring pressing outward ; a balance of internal and 
external pressure is accordingly kept up, and we are uncon¬ 
scious of any weight being laid on us. 

90. Give familiar examples of the pressure of the atmo¬ 
sphere. —When we cause a thimble to adhere to the hand by 
sucking the air from beneath it, the adhesion is the result of 
the pressure of the atmosphere on the exhausted space on the 
hand. The water in a glass fountain used for a bird-cage is 
kept from running out by the pressure of the atmosphere. 

91. What machine in ordinary use acts from the pressure of 
the atmosphere ? —The water-pump, which removes the air 
from the inside of the tube; the pressure on the surface 
without then forces up the water within. 

92. What is the air-pump ?—It is a machine employed to 
pump or draw air from a glass vessel, producing a vacuum or 
empty space ; the glass vessel used for this purpose is called 
the receiver , because it receives objects to be operated on. 

93. Can air be compressed ? —Yes ; but to compress it great 
force is required, and it has a tendency to rend any vessel in 
which it is forcibly confined. 

94. JVhat is the science which treats of the proper¬ 
ties of the air 1 —Pneumatics, from a Greek word 
signifying to breathe or blow. 

95. Is water in boiling affected in any way by 
atmospheric pressure ? —Yes. Near the level of the 
sea, water boils at the heat indicated by 212 de¬ 
grees of Fahrenheit’s thermometer; but at the top 
of a high hill the water will boil at a lower heat, 
because there the pressure of the atmosphere is less. 

96. A t what heat does water boil at the top of Mont 
Blanc, which is nearly three miles high ? —At 189 
degrees of Fahrenheit’s thermometer. 

97. What is the barometer ? —It is an instrument 
such as is here figured, and is employed for mea¬ 
suring the pressure of the atmosphere. 

98. What is its construction ? —There are several 
kinds of barometers. That in common use is a 
glass tube shut at the upper end, and having a 
bulb at the lower end, as in the figure, or the 
lower end open and dipped in a basin of mercury, Barometer, 
the mercury rising thirty inches more or less in 

the tube, according to the weight of the atmosphere. The 













36 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


height of the mercury is indicated by a scale along the side 
of the instrument. 

99. Why is this instrument called a weather-glass ? —Because 
the degree of pressure indicated is a token of the approaching 
state of the weather, such as fair, fine, rain, stormy. 

100. How is air altered by heat ? —It is expanded or rarefied, 
and so being rendered lighter, it ascends or floats upwards, 
while colder air descends to take its place. 

101. How is this exemplified ? —By the rushing of the cold 
air, called draughts, into apartments where the air is much 
heated and rarefied. 

102. How is this shewn on a great scale in nature ?—By the 
blowing of winds, which are currents of air set in motion by 
fluctuations of temperature. 

103. What are the trade-winds? —That is a name given by 
mariners to winds which blow steadily for months in parti¬ 
cular parts of the tropical regions. 

104. What are tornadoes ? —They are fierce gales of wind 
which often cause great damage in the West Indies and other 
tropical regions. 

105. What are cyclones ? —A cyclone is a fierce gale, which 
blows in a wide circle, as a species of whirlwind, and causes 
much damage in its course ; the central part within the circle 
being generally calm. 



A Water-spout. 


106. What are water-spouts ?—They are tall columns of water 
and vapour, which are caused chiefly by whirlwinds. 

107. Where are water-spouts most frequently seen ?—At sea, 
from whence the lower part of the column is sucked up, and is 
joined to a part reaching from the clouds ; such water-spouts 
are dangerous to mariners. When water-spouts break on the 
land, they cause great damage. 








CHEMISTRY—HEAT—THE ATMOSPHERE—SOUND. 


37 


108. If heated or rarefied air be confined in a light and thin 
bag, ivhat ensues ? —When the bag is liberated from the hand 
it will ascend. 

109. Give an example ? —The soap-bubbles blown by a child 
—thq globular light bubbles being bags full of warm or rarefied 

air. 

11 o. What is a balloon ? —A large bag of light silk, which 
ascends to great heights when filled with rarefied air, or a 
species of gas lighter than the atmosphere. 

in. Besides supporting animal and vegetable life, has the air 
any other use ? —It conveys sound. 

112. What is sound ? —Vibrations of the air conveyed to a 
membrane in the ear, from which an impression is communi¬ 
cated to the brain. 

113. At what rate of speed does sound reach the ear ?—Sound 
travels through the air at the rate of 1125 feet per second ; 
the report of a gun fired at a mile’s distance reaches us in 
from 4 to 5 seconds. 

114. Is sound conducted best along the land or water ?—It 
travels best along the surface of water, such as lakes and seas ; 
it can also be well conducted along a tube. 

115. What is an echo ? —A sound reflected or sent back from 
the object on which it strikes. 

116. Where do echoes most commonly occur ?—111 the neigh¬ 
bourhood of rocks, walls, and buildings. 

117. What is meant by acoustics'? —The term acoustics 
signifies the branch of science which treats of hearing and 
sound ; it is from a Greek word signifying to hear. 

118. To whom is a knowledge of this science of special import¬ 
ance ? —To architects who plan churches and public halls ; it 
being important that all such buildings should be constructed 
so as to enable speakers to be properly heard by an audience. 






33 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


Light—Electricity—Magnetism. 

1. Mention the source of daylight? —The sun. 

2. Does this light come instantaneously from the sun to the 
earth? —No; it is found that light travels at the rate of a 
hundred and ninety-two thousand miles in a second ; accord¬ 
ingly, the light of the sun takes eight minutes to reach the 
earth. 

3. Do rays of light proceed in a straight line ? —Only when 
they pass through empty space, or through a transparent body 
of uniform density. 

4. What ensues when the transparent body is of a varying 
density? —Then, the rays are bent or turned aside, and are 
said to be refracted. 

5. When are rays of light said to be reflected ?—When they 
are sent back into the medium through which they came to 
meet the reflecting surface. 

6. Give an example of reflection. —The light of the sun which 
is thrown on the moon, is reflected from its surface to the earth. 

7. Give other examples. —In the evening after sunset, and 
in the morning, before sunrise, the rays of the sun strike 
on the particles of air and moisture in the upper part of the 
atmosphere, and are reflected towards us: this imperfect 
light is called the twilight. 

8. Why in some fine climates does it become suddenly cold 
when the sun sets ?— Because the air is too pure and dry to 
retain the heat which came from the sun. 

9. Does the light consist of purely white rays ?—They appear 
so to the eye when they are not broken up or refracted. 

10. Explain this more fully. —If the rays of light are made 
to pass through a triangular piece of glass, called a prism, 
or other transparent substance, they are separated into seven 
colours shading into each other. 

11. Name the prismatic colours. —Bed, orange, yellow, green, 
blue, indigo, and violet. 

12. Are all these colours primary or elementary ? —No ; there 
are only three primitive colours, red, yellow, and blue ; from 
these the others are compounded—green being a union of blue 
and yellow, and so on. 

13. Where are the prismatic colours shewn beautifully in 
nature ? —In the rainbow. 




LIGHT—ELECTRICITY—MAGNETISM. 


39 


14. How are the colours of the rainbow produced ? —By the 
sun’s rays "being reflected and decomposed in their passage 
through the falling drops of rain ; to see the rainbow, we must 
stand between the sun and the falling shower. 

15 .Is the rainbow produced ly moonlight? —Yes; hut 
faintly—it is called a lunar rainbow. 

16. Can the rainbow be seen on a small scale ? —It can he seen 
in the spray of a water-fall; and its colours are seen in the 
crystal drops of a chandelier, when lighted up. 

17. What is polarisation of light ?— A change produced on 
light hy a series of reflections, or transmission through crystals, 
by which it is said to he polarised, or to have opposite poles ; 
this remarkable property in light has engaged the deep study 
of men of science. 

18. What use has sunlight besides that of giving us light ?— 
The light of the sun powerfully affects vegetation. It gives 
the green colour to grass and other vegetables ; without it, 
plants become white and sickly, as is seen in vegetables 
growing in a dark cellar. 

19. How does sunlight affect animal life ? —It communicates 
health, and a sensation of pleasure to most animals, particu¬ 
larly to human beings, who do not thrive in dingy situations. 

20. What is artificial light ? —The light given by candles, 
gas, and other inflammable articles. 

21. What is meant by optics ? —The term optics signifies the 
branch of science which treats of light and vision ; it is from 
a Greek word signifying to see. 

22. What is the principle of vision ?—Objects presented to 
the eye have their images depicted on the back part of the eye, 
called the retina , from which certain nerves convey intelligence 
of the image to the brain. 

23. But how is the image or picture of objects condensed into so 
small a space ? —The front part of the eye forms a lens which 
collects the rays of light proceeding from the object, and 
throws them condensed 011 the retina. 

24. j Describe a lens. —There are various kinds of artificial 
lenses, but the best known are those used for spectacles, 
which consist of pieces of transparent glass, ground so as to 
bulge in the centre ; they act on the principle of collecting 
the rays from objects and transmitting them to the eye, in 
aid of the natural lens. 

25. What is meant by 1 the focus of a lensV —It signifies 
the point at which the converging rays meet. The greatest 


40 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


heat is there felt, hence the name. By means of a lens, the 
rays of the sun may he made to set fire to an inflammable 
substance at the proper focal distance. 

26. What is a telescope ?—It is an optical instrument, con¬ 
sisting of a tube fitted up with a number of lenses, by which 
distant objects are seen distinctly ; the word telescope is from 
the Greek tele , at a distance, and scopeo, I see. 

27. What is a microscope ?—It is an optical instrument, fitted 
up with lenses and mirrors for the purpose of magnifying very 
minute objects ; the word microscope is from the Greek micros , 
small, and scopeo , I see. 

28. To wliat uses has the microscope been put by men of science ? 
—By its means, a knowledge has been gained of the struc¬ 
ture of exceedingly small animals, also the structure of plants, 
and other minute objects. 

29. What is phosphorescent light? —It is that which is 
natural to minute animals in the sea, some kinds of fish, 
certain decaying animal matter, and also the glow-worm and 
fire-flies. 

30. What is electricity ? —A remarkable property in nature, 
which, like heat, pervades all material things. 

31. From what is the word electricity derived ? —From electron , 
the Greek word for amber, which, when rubbed, was observed to 
have the power of attracting light bodies, as hair and feathers. 

32. Does any other body than amber shew this power? —Yes; 
several others, particularly glass, which, when smartly and 
continuously rubbed, emits bright electric sparks. 

33. How is this best done ? —By an electrifying machine, in 
■which a glass cylinder is kept rubbing against a cushion, and 
the electricity so produced can be collected into a phial coated 
with tin-foil. A collection of such phials is called an electric 
battery. 

34. What is a good conductor of electricity ?—A metal wire or 
rod ; all metals being good electric conductors. 

35. What are bad electric conductors ? —Glass, wax, silk, 
wool, and feathers, also dry air. 

36. Is electricity always the same ?—No ; there are two 
opposite kinds, called positive and negative. 

37. What ensues when a body that is positively charged is 
brought in contact with one negatively charged ? —The positive 
rushes into the negative to restore the equilibrium. Usually 
a flash of electric light is seen on such occasions. 

38. Where is this seen on a grand scale ?—In nature, when the 


LIGHT—ELECTRICITY—MAGNETISM. 


41 


positive electricity in an overcharged cloud passes with a 
tremendous explosion, into clouds negatively charged, or into 
the ground. 



39. What is lightning ?— Flashes of electricity from over¬ 
charged clouds. 

40. What is thunder ? —Explosions of electricity in the 
atmosphere. 

41. ? s thunder dangerous ?■ —No, but lightning is ; after the 
flash is over the danger is past. 

42. JVhat is done to avert injury to buildings from lightning ? 
—The buildings are provided with metal rods which conduct 
the lightning to the ground. 

43. How is electricity otherwise demonstrated in nature ? —In 
several ways, such as those light streaks in the sky at night, 
called the Aurora Borealis, or electricity passing through 
rarified parts of the atmosphere. 

44. What is magnetism ?—It is a natural property resembling 
electricity, if not another form of the same thing. 

45. JVhere is the magnetic property largely observable ?—In 
one of the ores of iron called the loadstone, from which, by 
rubbing, it can be communicated to any piece of steel. Such 
magnetised pieces of steel are called artificial magnets. 

46. What is remarkable about these magnets ?■ —They attract 
small pieces of iron to them, and hold them by mere contact. 

47. What else is remarkable ? —Between the two opposite 
points of such slips of metal the magnetic influence is 
continually though invisibly flowing. 

48. What are the poles of the magnet ? —Its extremities, where 
the magnetic influence is greatest. 

49. Have these poles any reference to the poles of the Earth ?-— 
Yes. The earth itself seems to be a great magnet, and its 












42 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


magnetic poles nearly correspond with the north and south 
pole. It is found that the poles of an artificial magnet, when 
nicely poised, are directed towards the magnetic poies of the 
earth ; hence the action of the mariner’s compass. 

50. What is Galvanism ?—The electricity developed by the 
action of certain chemical agents on plates of different metals, 
usually zinc and copper, and which, like the electricity of 
friction, can be collected in batteries. 

51. What is this species of battery called ?—A galvanic 
battery, from its discoverer, Galvani, an Italian philosopher. 

52. To what use has this kind of electricity been put ?—It is 
employed in the electric-clock and electric-telegraph. 

53. What is the principle of the electric-telegraph ? —Electri¬ 
city being sent along a wire, causes the deflection of a needle 
at its opposite end, that points to letters on a dial according 
to the will of the operator. 

54. What is meteorology ?—The branch of science which 
treats of winds, clouds, rain, thunder, lightning, and all things 
remarkable in the atmosphere. 


Matter and Motion—Water—Mechanics. 

1. What is scientifically meant by matter ?—All that we 
can recognise by the senses—the earth, air, water, animals 
and vegetables, the sun and other heavenly bodies. 

2. Explain the difference between organic and inorganic 
bodies. —Organic bodies are those having a structure composed 
of parts each adapted to perform some separate function ; 
inorganic bodies are destitute of this natural provision. 
Animals and plants—in other words, all things that have 
life—are organic bodies ; all other things are inorganic. 

3. When one body is heavier than another of the same bulk , 
what is said of it ? —That it is more dense, or consists of more 
particles of matter. 

4. Give some examples of this difference of density. —A stone 
is more dense than water; water is denser than cork; and 
cork is denser than air. 

5. Is matter destructible ?— No ; when, for example, a thing 
is burned, it is destroyed only as regards its form ; the matter 
of which it was composed has assumed new shapes. 



MATTER AND MOTION—WATER—MECHANICS. 43 

6. Give examples of substances assuming new shapes. —If the 
substance burned be coal, it is dispersed in the form of 
smoke or particles of soot, gas, and ashes or dust. In the 
same manner, animal and vegetable substances decaying in 
the ground, turn to dust or exhale into gases. 

7. Mention the name of the force which draws or attracts 
masses of matter towards each other.— Attraction of gravitation, 
as exemplified in the falling of bodies to the earth. 

8. When a thing falls from our hand , is its fall only the 
result of attraction ? —Yes ; the earth attracts it, and we say it 
falls. 

9. What is the principle on which this species of attraction 
takes place '? —Two bodies of the same size attract or draw 
each other equally; but if one be double the other, it will 
exert a double force ; and so on in proportion. 

10. Is the attraction exerted from the centre or the surface of 
bodies ? —It is exerted from the central point, round which 
the particles are equally assembled. If more particles are 
on one side of a body than another, the centre of attraction 
will be correspondingly different. 

11. Give an instance. —When a body falls to the ground, it 
descends in the direction of the centre of the earth. 

12. Is what we call straight up and down in this direction ? 
—Yes ; the straight, upright front of a building, for example, 
is in this direction. This is determined by applying the 
plumb-line, which hangs straight down in the direction of 
the centre of the earth. 

13. How does distance affect attraction ?—Attraction varies 
according as bodies are near or distant from each other— 
always the further away, the less attraction. It diminishes 
inversely as the squares of the distances. 

14. Explain this more clearly. —Whatever be the attrac¬ 
tion at the distance of one foot, it is, at the distance of 
two feet, reduced to a fourth of what it was; if the dis¬ 
tance is made three feet, the attraction becomes a ninth ; 
if four feet, a sixteenth. The same law holds good of light, 
heat, and all influences which emanate from a certain 
point. 

15. What is weight ?—Weight is only a result of attraction. 
An article weighing a thousand pounds at the level of the 
sea, will, at the height of four miles, weigh by a spring-balance 
two pounds less. 

16. Why a spring-balance ? —Because, if an ordinary balance 


44 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


with scales were used, the weight put into one scale would be 
as much affected as the article put into the other. 

17. Are there any small bodies in space beyond the earth's 
attraction ? —Innumerable small bodies are believed to be 
floating in space, or circling round the sun, beyond the 
ordinary attraction of the earth. 

18. Do any of these bodies ever fall to the earth ?—It is sup¬ 
posed they occasionally do, when the earth, in the course of its 
annual revolution, happens to come so near them as to draw 
them towards it; such bodies are called aerolites or meteorolites. 

19. What is the appearance of meteorolites in falling ?— 
They have a luminous appearance, on which account they 
are sometimes spoken of as fire-balls or shooting-stars. 

20. Why are meteorolites luminous ? —They get heated and 
luminous from the rapidity with which they shoot through 
the atmosphere towards the earth ; when cool, they seem to 
be of a metallic character. A number of different sizes are 
to be seen in museums. 

21. Is the attraction towards the earth the same in all parts of 
the globe at the sea-level ? —No ; the attraction is weakest at the 
equator, and stronger as we advance to the poles. 

22. Why is there this difference ?—Because the globe is not 
a perfect sphere; its diameter at the equator is twenty-six 
miles greater than at the poles ; on which account it follows 
that the surface there is thirteen miles further away from the 
centre than the surface at the poles ; consequently, the drawing 
force at the poles is strongest. 

23. Can this difference of attraction be exemplified in any 
way 1 —Yes ; by means of the pendulum. 

24. What is a pendulum ?—It is a piece of metal swung by 
a rod, which regulates the movement of clocks. 

25. How is the pendulum affected by attraction ?—Its swinging 
to and fro being of the nature of falling, it swings more 
actively, or is attracted quicker backwards and forwards at 
the poles than at the equator. 

26. How are pendulums regulated so as to Iceep good time 
everywhere ? —They are gradually lengthened in advancing 
towards the poles; for the longer they are, they vibrate the 
slower. In this way the increasing attraction is counteracted. 

27. Hovj does the attraction of gravitation operate as regards 
liquids ? —Attraction operates in liquids as on solids, blit the 
particles of a liquid being free to move in any direction, they 
all endeavour to get to the lowest level within their reach. 


MATTER AND MOTION—WATER—MECHANICS. 45 

28. What is usually said of this tendency in water ?—That 
toy gravitation water will always find its level. 

29 . How is this seen in nature ? —By the flowing of rivers 
and rivulets. As is well known, the force of running water is 
employed as a moving power to turn mills. 

30. How is water supplied to towns ? —By being conducted 
through close pipes, down which it flows by its own gravity. 

3 1 - How high will it rise in any town to which it is conducted 1 
— Water will rise to the level of the fountain from which it 
nows, and no higher. 

32. Does the pressure of water depend on its depth ? —Yes ; it 
increases with the depth; this is shewn by the bursting of 
pipes in low situations, and also of deep reservoirs in which it 
is confined. 

33. What is meant by specific gravity The specific gravity 
of a body is its weight compared with that of water. 

34. Give an example. —The specific gravity of wood is less 
than that of water ; and the result is, that water buoys up 
wood. Stone being heavier than water, naturally sinks. 

35. But are not stones easily moved in loater ? —Yes ; because 
the water partially supports them on all sides. Heavy stones 
and masses of gravel are thus swept away by floods. 

36. Does the buoyant power of water depend on its depth or 
expanse ?■ —No ; if there be enough water to surround an object 
lighter than itself, that object will float. A ship floats as high 
in a small dock as in the ocean. 

37. What is meant by hydraulics ?—Such is the branch of 
science which refers to the motion of water as in pipes and 
sewers, and its action on machinery ; by hydrostatics is meant 
the science which treats of the properties of water when it is 
at rest. 

38. What is the cause of friction ?—A tendency in one body 
to adhere to another, called adhesion. The application of 
grease or oil, as is observable in the greasing of axles of 
wheels and the oiling of machinery, is a method usually 
adopted to overcome friction in moving bodies. 

39. How does adhesion act as between solids and liquids ? — 
It acts more powerfully than between solids and solids. If 
we dip our hand into water, the water adheres to it, and 
requires to be rubbed off; what we call wetting is only the 
adhesion of the liquid to the solid body. 

40. But liquids do not always wet solids or adhere to them .— 
This ensues when the particles of one substance have a greater 


46 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


attraction towards each other than towards those of another 
substance. As examples—a rod coated with grease remains dry 
when plunged in water ; and the natural oil on the feathers of 
water-fowl keeps them from being wetted. 

41. What is capillary attraction ? —It is a particular effect 
of adhesion, which, acting in small hair-like tubes, is called 
capillary attraction, from capillus, the Latin word for a hair. 

42. Describe its action. —If the end of one of these small 
glass tubes is dipped in water, the water is seen to rise in the 
tube above the rest of the surface. There will be no such 
rising, however, unless the water wets the tube. 

43. Give some familiar examples of capillary attraction. —Oil 
creeps up the wick of a lamp to supply the flame ; water will 
creep up a lump of sugar till it is all moistened; water will 
creep up the foundations of a house and render the walls 
damp; and water in a cup rises a little way all round as if 
anxious to cling to the vessel. 

44. If a small object such as a stalk of tea is floated on the 
surface , what ensues ? —If near the edge, it will rush to the side 
of the vessel and cling to it. 

45. What is the inertia of bodies ? —The tendency to remain 
in the condition in which they are placed, whether at rest or 
in motion ; for example, a carriage is at first difficult to be 
set in motion, but when moving it is as difficult to stop it. 

46. What is the tendency of a body in a state of motion 1 — 
To go straight forward, until it is obstructed or drawn out of 
its course. When a ball is shot from a cannon it would go 
straight on for ever unless it were drawn down or attracted 
by the earth, or stopped by the air through which it has to 
pass, and the same would take place with other projectiles. 

47. How is this inertia shewn in the case of persons in a 
carriage ? —All the persons in a moving carriage participate in 
the motion. This is fatally exemplified when they attempt to 
leap from the carriage, for, continuing in a state of forward 
motion, they are dashed on the ground. 

48. Are the lower animals acquainted with this inertia ?— 
Hares instinctively know that by doubling quickly in being 
hunted, they will perhaps outrun the dogs which follow them, 
for the dogs, not expecting such sudden turns, shoot a good 
way onward before they get round on the new track. 

49. What is meant by saying that the action and reaction of 
bodies are equal and opposite ? —That a body reacts or strikes 
with the force with which it is struck. If I strike a table 
with my hand, my hand is equally struck by the table. When . 


MATTER AND MOTION—WATER—MECHANICS. 47 

a blacksmith strikes his hammer on the anvil, the anvil gives 
a blow with equal force to the hammer. 

50. Give further examples ? —When a man standing in a boat 
tries to push another boat away from him, he pushes his own 
boat off at the same time. When a person tires a gun, the 
moving force of the gun is equal to the moving force of the 
ball, but the gun being much heavier than the ball, its 
backward tendency or recoil is proportionally less than the 
forward motion of the ball, and is therefore easily checked. 

51. What is momentum ?—The motion or force in a moving 
body. But momentum does not depend on velocity alone ; it 
is made up of velocity and quantity of matter ; the momentum 
of a ball of iron being very much greater than a ball of wood 
of the same size. 

52. When a body falls from a great height , is its fall equal 
throughout ? —No ; its descent becomes quicker as it falls, 
because it is at every instant receiving a fresh impulse from 
gravitation; while, at the same time, it never loses any of the 
motion it got from the former impulses. 

53. How is this exemplified ?—In the severe shock which is 
experienced by a person falling from the roof of a house, in 
comparison to that which he suffers in falling from a chair to 
the floor. 

54. Explain why vehicles when loaded high are so easily upset. 
—In proportion as we raise a load on a carriage, we raise its 
centre of gravity, or that point in the mass on which the 
earth’s attraction may be held to be exerted, and if this 
point happen to lean over, the vehicle has a tendency to be 
upset. 

55. What do we practically learn from this ? —To keep the 
centre of gravity in moving vehicles as low as is practicable, 
so as to preserve a proper balance or equilibrium. 

56. How do rope-dancers usually preserve their equilibrium ? 
—By holding a long pole loaded with lead at both ends, with 
which they can adjust their balance on the rope. 

57. What are the mechanical powers ? —Certain elementary 
machines or instruments, out of which all machinery is 
constructed. 

58. Name the elementary mechanical powers. —The lever, the 
pulley, the inclined plane, the wheel and axle, the wedge, and 
the screw. 

59. Can these be reduced in number ? —In principle, they can 
be reduced to two—the lever and the inclined plane. 

60. What is the lever ?—An instrument named from the 


48 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


French word lever, to raise, and which is designed for raising 
weights with comparative ease. 

61. What is its form ?—It may be described as a bar of iron 
or wood, the point of which being inserted below a heavy 
weight, we are enabled to raise it by exerting a moderate force 
at the opposite end. 

62. Does the lever create power ?—No ; it only modifies it. 
By no contrivance can we get more power from any instru¬ 
ment or machine than what we put into it. 



Man and Lever. 


63. Explain how the power is modified. —A pressure equal to 
one pound will lift ten pounds ; but to lift the ten pounds 
through one foot, the one pound must descend ten feet. Thus, 
length of time in pressing with a small force is made to 
balance or overcome a larger force ; in other words, power is 
gained by a sacrifice of speed. 

64. We may, then, understand that a lever consists of two parts ? 
—Yes; it consists of two arms usually of unequal length— 
the hand being applied to the one, and the weight resting on 
the other. 

65. What is the fulcrum of a lever ? —It is the point or prop 
between the two ends of the ordinary kind of lever. 

66. Give examples of the lever. —The lever is exemplified 
in various ways. The instrument by which a nut is 
cracked is one example. We have another instance in the 
rowing of a boat: the hand of the rower is the power, the 
water against which the blade pushes is the fulcrum, and the 
resistance to be moved is the boat. 

67. What is the steelyard 1 —An instrument for weighing of 
the nature of the lever. 

68. Explain its action. —It is a lever suspended by a pivot 




MATTER AND MOTION—WATER—MECHANICS. 


49 


which is the fulcrum ; from the short arm depends a scale for 
the article to be weighed; and on the long arm a weight is 
hung as a balance. In proportion as the article to be weighed 
is heavy, so is the weight slipped along to a greater distance 

from it. 


69. JVhat is the inclined plane ? —Any rise in a road is an 
inclined plane. The most obvious example is that of a cart 
and horse going uphill. If the rise be one foot in ten feet, 
the horse, in addition to the draught on a level road, has to 
draw with a force equal to a tenth of the weight of the load. 

70. Give examples of instruments conceived on the plan of the 
inclined plane. —The most familiar examples are the wedge 
and screw, both of great importance in the arts. As in the 
case of the lever, a small force exerted through a long space, 
has the effect of a greater force acting over a smaller space. 

71. JVhy do people feel tired in going up a long stair or steep 
h ill ? —Because they are at every step lifting their own weight. 

72. JFhat is the wheel and axle ? —It is only a variety of the 
lever, as exemplified in windlasses for drawing up heavy 
weights, and in capstans for raising the anchors of ships. 

73. What is the pulley ?—It is a wheel of wood or metal, 
fixed in a block, and capable of turning on an axis, with a 
groove cut around the circumference, to 

receive a rope. 

74. How may power he gained by the 
pulley ? —By making a combination of 
them. Pulleys may be combined in a 
variety of ways ; but the most gener¬ 
ally used form is that known by the 
name of the ‘ Block and Tackle ’ arrange¬ 
ment. 

75. What examples of these mechanical 
powers have we in machinery ? —The cogs 
or teeth of wheels acting on each other, 
are examples of the lever. The wor k i n g 
of pump-handles, cranks, axles, and a 
varietv of other kinds of mechanism, are adaptations of these 
powers. A donkey walking up the inside of a large wheel 
in order to draw water from a well, is a well-known example 
of the wheel and axle. 

76. What is the special use of machinery? —To simplify 
labour. One of the simplest machines is a spade, without 
which or some other implement, we should have to dig with 
the hands. 

D 



Simple Pulley. 




50 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


77. What is meant by the phrase ‘ mechanical combination of 
substances ? ’—It signifies that the substances are simply mixed 



Donkey and Well. 


together—as for example, milk mixed with tea, spirits mixed 
with water—without any change in the properties of the 
substances. The phrase is used as a distinction from 4 chemi¬ 
cal combination/ in which the mixed substances undergo a 
thorough change of character. 

78. What is meant by 4 Physics V —It signifies the science 
which treats of objects in nature and the principles on which 
they act; the term is from a Greek word signifying nature. 

79. What is 4 Natural Philosophy ? ’ —That is a term often 
employed instead of Physics , and is that great department 
of science which includes the laws of matter and motion, 
meteorology, pneumatics, optics, acoustics, hydrostatics, and 
some other subjects. 


The Vegetable Creation. 


1. What is the Vegetable Creation ?—It consists of all kinds 
of vegetables or plants, from the smallest to the greatest— 
from the lichen that incrusts the rock to the loftiest trees. 

2. What other name is given to the vegetable creation ? —The 
Vegetable Kingdom, by which it is distinguished from the 
Animal and Mineral Kingdoms. 

3. How are plants produced ?—They chiefly grow from the 
seeds of previous plants of the same kind. 










THE VEGETABLE CREATION. 


51 


4. Are there many different hinds of plants ?— Upwards of 
a hundred and twenty thousand different kinds are ascertained 
to exist, and no doubt many are yet unknown. 

5. When you say exist , do you mean that plants live ?—Yes ; 
their existence is a kind of life—life without consciousness. 
Generally, they are fixed to the spot on which they grow. 

6. What nourishes them ?—They require air, water, and a 
certain amount of heat. 

7. Do all plants require sunlight ? —The greater number 
do ; but there are some winch grow in very dark 
situations. 

8. What is the effect of sunlight on plants? —It imparts the 
green colour which is so pleasing to the eye. 

9. How do plants imbibe nourishment ? —In the greater 
number of plants, the nourishment ascends from the roots 
through the stalk and branches by means of very minute 
tubes or sap-vessels. 

10. Of what service is the air to plants? —The leaves of 
plants have the property of absorbing a certain amount of 
carbonic acid gas, which they find in the air that has been 
used or vitiated by animals ; so that what would become 
greatly injurious to animal life, is serviceable to vegetable 
life. 

11. Do plants exhale any species of air or gas in return ? —In 
daylight they give off oxygen and moisture, which are service¬ 
able to the animal creation; and thus the salubrity of the 
atmosphere is maintained. 

12. From what are seeds produced ?—Generally from certain 
parts of the plant called the pistil and stamens within the 
flower ; the germinating power being promoted by a species 
of dust called the pollen, wdiich is shed by the stamens. 

13. In what manner do seeds grow in the soil ? —Seeds 
begin by swelling; then, from a part of the seed called 
the eye, a double shoot is sent forth, of which one part 
goes down to form the root, while the other rises to be the 
stem. 

14. On being gathered, do seeds long retain their vitality ?— 
Some seeds are known to have retained _ their vitality for 
thousands of years ; they will also lie buried for ages in the 
ground until circumstances allow them to germinate ; but if 
exposed to the air, most seeds lose their vitality after a few 
years. 

15. What plants do not produce the ordinary kind of seeds ?— 
The Cryptogamia, which form the lowest class, in point of 


52 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


organisation, in the vegetable kingdom ; the name is derived 
from two Greek words signifying secret marriage. 

16. Mention some of the plants included in the cryptogamia. 
—Ferns, mosses, lichens, algse or sea-weeds, and fungi. 

17. How are cryptogamous plants reproduced ?—In various 
ways ; sometimes, as in the case of ferns, from spores which 
grow in clusters like specks on 
the under side of the leaf; some¬ 
times, as in the case of fungi, 
from spores within a part of the 
plant, which, broken off and 
scattered in suitable situations, 
will reproduce. 

18. What is the difference be¬ 
tween a seed and a spore ?—A 
seed sends out a shoot from a 
particular point ; a spore grows from any part. 

19. How are seeds and spores diffused by nature ?—They are 
carried by birds, wafted by winds, and dispersed in various 
other ways ; many kinds of spores are invisible to the naked 
eye, and no one can tell where they alight. 

20. Has not nature provided some seeds with means for flying ? 
—Yes ; the seeds of the dandelion, thistle, and many other 
plants, are furnished with a soft down to float them through 
the air. 

21. What plants fling their seeds from them when ripe ?—The 
broom, the poppy, and others ; as the poppy-head waves on 
its stalk in the wind, it throws out its small seeds to some 
distance through a circular row of holes. 

22. Are the fungi edible ? —Only a few kinds ; those 
known as mushrooms, morels, and truffles are edible. The 
greater number, including what are called toad-stools, are 
poisonous. 

23. Where do fungous plants usually grow ? —In dark and 
damp situations, and where there are any decaying sub¬ 
stances to afford them nourishment. 

24. Mention familiar examples of cryptogamous vegetation in 
dwelling-houses. —Mould and mildew, which are seen chiefly 
where there is damp. The dry-rot in timber is another 
example. 

25. Have plants been classified? —Yes; according to certain 
peculiarities, they have been arranged into classes, genera, and 
species by Linnseus, a Swedish naturalist. 



THE VEGETABLE CREATION. 


53 


26. What is his system of classification called ? —The Linncean 
system, which may be studied from books of botany. 

27. Has any other person attempted a classification ? —Yes; 
Jussieu, a French naturalist, classifies plants into families 
chiefly according to the structure of the flowers and fruit. His 
system has since been much improved by others, and is now 
generally adopted as in harmony with nature. 

28. Which are the vegetables most directly serviceable to man ? 
—Grains, esculent roots and plants, fibrous plants, medicinal 
plants, and fruit and timber trees. 

29. What other name is given to the grains ? —Cereal plants, 
so called from Ceres, the heathen goddess of corn. The most 
important are wheat, barley, oats, maize or Indian corn, rye, 
rice, and millet ; wheat is largely used for bread. It is 
customary to call all kinds of grain corn. 

30. What is the principal use of barley ? —That of being 
made into malt, from which ale, beer, and spirits are chiefly 
prepared. 

31. What is malt ?— -Barley, which, by being moistened with 
water, has begun to germinate, and is afterwards dried. 

32. What are the uses of oats ? —Oats are much used as the 
food of horses ; but when ground into meal they form a 
nourishing food for the use of man. 

33. Where is Indian corn largely in use ? —In the United 
States of America, and in various parts of Africa and Asia. 

34. Where are rice and millet much in use ?—In India, where 
they form the principal articles of subsistence. 

35. What are leguminous or pulse crops ? —Beans, peas, 
lentils, and some others of less importance. 

36. Are there numerous grasses ?—Yes ; they are exceedingly 
numerous, particularly in England, where they grow in 
perfection. 

37. What are artificial grasses ? —That is a term often 
misapplied to such plants as clover and lucerne, which are 
not, properly speaking, grasses, but are sown for fodder. 

38. Which are esculent vegetables ?—The potato, turnip, 
cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, beet-root, parsnip, leek, and onion 
are those which chiefly grow in European countries. 

39. Is the potato a native of Europe ?—No ; it was intro¬ 
duced from Chili, in South America, at the close of the 
sixteenth century. 

40. What are tubers ?—Roundish or oblong knobs which 


54 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


grow in connection with, the roots of certain plants. Potatoes, 
yams, and arrow-root are examples of tubers. 

41. What are bulbous plants'! —Those which have roots in 
the form of bulbs. 

42. Wliat is a bulb ! —A rounded root consisting of concen¬ 
tric layers or rings, from the top of which springs the stem ; 
the onion, lily, and tulip are examples. 

43. What are annuals ! —Those plants which grow only for 
a year or season, and then perish. 

44. What are biennials ! —Those plants which continue two 
years ; the root, stem, and leaves generally grow the first year, 
and the flower the second ; after which they die. 

45. What are perennials ? —Plants which continue a number 
of years. 

46. What are herbaceous plants !—Those having soft stems, 
which easily perish ; as in the case of annuals and biennials, 
also many perennials. 

47. What are orchideous plants! —A particular order of 
herbaceous perennials, prized for their beautiful flowers ; some 
of the tropical species, which naturally grow on the boughs of 
trees, have been introduced into hot-houses, where they are 
suspended in moss or on blocks of wood. 

48. What are evergreens ! —Trees and shrubs which always 
retain their verdure, such as the fir, holly, and laurel. 

49. How do evergreens shed their leaves ! —The oldest leaves 
drop off in spring, when new ones are formed on fresh shoots. 

50. What are deciduous trees ! —Those which shed their 
leaves annually on the approach of winter. 

51. What are exogenous trees! —Those which increase in 
bulk by concentric rings beneath the bark annually. The 



Section of an Exogenous 



trees of Great Britain are of this kind, such as the oak, ash, 
elm, larch, and others, the age of which can be reckoned by 
the number of concentric rings. 


THE VEGETABLE CREATION. 


55 


52. What are endogenous trees ?—Those which increase 
in bulk by growth in the centre and upwards, of which the 
palm is an example. 

53. What are exotics ?—Plants which have been introduced 
from foreign countries. 

54- What are indigenous plants ? —Those which grow natur¬ 
ally in the country—not exotics. 

55* What is meant by the acclimatising of plants ? —Habi¬ 
tuating them to a climate foreign to that to which they have 
been accustomed. 

56. Mention some of the plants which are largely in use ? — 
Tobacco, cotton, flax and hemp, sugar-cane, tea and coffee 
plants—all of which, except flax and hemp, are grown in 
countries foreign to Great Britain. 

57- _ Which are the more remarlcdble fruit-trees and shrubs ?— 
The vine, date, fig, olive, orange, lemon, peach, apricot, walnut, 
plum, chercy, apple, and pear, are the most notable in 
European countries. 

58. Where does the vine principally grow? —It grows in 
warm eastern countries, and is often mentioned in the Bible ; 
but it is now grown to a large extent in France, Italy, 
and on the banks of the Rhine ; also in America and 
Australia. 

59. Which are the smaller fruits best known in Great Britain? 
—The gooseberry, strawberry, raspberry, and currant—which 
grow in several varieties and in great profusion. 

60. Which are the principal timber trees in European countries ? 
—The oak, ash, elm, beech, birch, hawthorn, sycamore, 
lime, chestnut, and several kinds of pine. 

61. Which of these trees yield the strongest timber ?—The oak, 
chestnut, ash, and elm, which are of slow growth ; the most 
durable of all being the oak. 

62. Which are found to be the most valuable for general 
purposes ? —The different kinds of pine, particularly the larch, 
of which large plantations are formed. 

63. Which of these trees are valuable for their bark ? —The oak 
and larch, the bark of which is used for tanning leather. 

64. Which foreign tree is most prized for its timber ?—The 
mahogany-tree, which grows in the central parts of America, 
and attains to a great size ; also the teak, which is valuable 
for ship-building. 

65. Which is the tallest tree known ? —The Wellingtonia 





56 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


Gigantea, which grows in California, and reaches a height 
of one hundred and eighty feet. 


The Animal Creation. 

1. What does the Animal Creation comprehend ?■—All living 
creatures, from the most minute to the most highly organised ; 
at the head of the whole is man. 

2. How is the animal creation sometimes designated ?—As 
the Animal Kingdom ; the science which treats of it is called 
Zoology , from two Greek words signifying a discourse on 
animals. 

3. What are the ideas that first occur to the mind concerning 
animals ?—We are struck with their vast multiplicity and. 
wonderful diversity of form and character, the provision 
made for their support, and their adaptation to the conditions 
in which they are placed—all which ideas are suggestive of 
the infinite wisdom and goodness of the Almighty. 

4. Is any animal insignificant ?—No ; there are many very 
humble, and many very troublesome creatures ; but when 
closely examined, all invite our wonder, and each is seen to 
be an essential part of the plan of creation. 

5. What is meant by the phrase e lower animals V —All 
animals except man, who is the higher, and, in the language 
of Scripture, has been endowed with ‘ dominion over the fish 
of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living 
thing that moveth on the earth.’ 

6. Occupying this high position , what is the duty of man to 
the lower animals ?—His duty is to rule them with kindness, 
to make use of them, but not to abuse them, and even in 
killing them for food or for any other necessary purpose, to 
inflict as little pain as possible. 

7. Ho the lower animals prey on each other ?—Such is 
observed to be the case with many orders of animals, and is 
apparently according to a design in nature to restrain an 
undue abundance of certain kinds of animal life. 

8. Give some examples. —Swallows and some other birds 
clear the air of gnats, flies, and other insects ; these birds are 
in turn killed by hawks ; toads clear the ground of slugs and 
other crawling creatures ; cats destroy mice; weasels rid the 
fields of vermin; lions, tigers, and panthers keep down the 



THE ANIMAL CREATION. 


57 


number of herbivorous beasts, and so on. The examples are 
endless. 

9. Has nature jpursued any plan for ridding the ground of 
dead animals ? —Yes ; the means ordained for this purpose are 
very remarkable—they consist in giving certain creatures an 
appetite for decaying animal substances. 

10. Give examples. —Vultures have the faculty of descrying 
dead bodies at great distances, and immediately proceed to 
devour them ; but the destruction of such offensive substances 
is effected quite as well by certain kinds of beetles, ants, and 
also by maggots. 

11. How are maggots brought into connection with these 
decaying substances ? —They are produced from eggs laid by 
certain flies, which, like vultures, wing their way to dead 
bodies. When the maggots have accomplished their object, 
they undergo a transformation which brings them to 
the condition of flies, and these proceed to new subjects for 
destruction. 

12. What is meant by the balance of nature? —It has been 
thought that nature has adjusted a balance between the 
production and destruction of animal life, and that man may 
indiscreetly interfere to disturb this arrangement. 

13. Mention an instance of man having disturbed the balance 
of animal life. —In France, so many small birds have been 
indiscreetly killed, that the vegetation is in many places 
destroyed by caterpillars. Had the birds been let alone, they 
would have destroyed the caterpillars, and thus the ‘balance 
of nature ’ would not have been deranged. 

14. How does climate affect animal life ? —In cold coun¬ 
tries the number of animals is limited, while in tropical regions 
the abundance of animal life, particularly as regards insects 
and reptiles, is excessive and troublesome. 

15. How were animals at one time classed? —As beasts or 
quadrupeds, birds, fishes, reptiles, worms, and insects. 

16. Why was this classification abandoned ? —Because it was 
found to be imperfect, and left out a number of creatures that 
could not be included in any of these divisions. 

17. Who attempted a new classification ? —Cuvier, a French 
naturalist, whose arrangement is now adopted. According to 
this plan, the whole animal kingdom is, in the first place, 
divided into four provinces or sub-kingdoms. 

18. Mention these sub-ldngdoms. —1. Radiata, or Rayed 
Animals; 2. Mollusca, cr Pulpy Animals; 3. Articulata, 


58 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


or Jointed Animals; and, 4. Vertebrata, or Back-boned 
Animals. 

19. How are these departments subdivided ?—Each is divided 
into classes ; classes are divided into orders; orders^ into 
families and genera ; and the genera into species and varieties. 

20. Does the system include all living creatures whatsoever ?— 
It is designed to do so ; but new animals, particularly of 
lower kinds, are constantly being discovered, and they 
require to be added. 

21. What is meant by species ?—It is a term applied to any 
form which is maintained uniformly through a succession of 
generations. For example, the horse is one species, and the 
ass another; and though there is a resemblance between the 
two, each continues its own species alone. 

22. Are there not exceptions to this rule ? —Only in a slight 
degree. The horse and ass produce a hybrid called the mule, 
but the mule has no descendants. Nature seems to interpose 
a check to such mixtures of races, however much they resemble 
each other. 

23. Are all dogs of one species ?—Yes ; but they are of dis¬ 
tinctly-marked varieties, each of which it is important to 
preserve pure, for any intermixture produces deterioration. 

24. Are not different varieties of sheep sometimes blended 
with advantage ?—They are ; but such artificial breeds are of 
temporary value ; they require constant care, and often also 
renewal—nature here, again, interposing to preserve distinct¬ 
ness of variety. 

25. Can we conjecture what nature means by preserving 
distinctness in the classes , species , and varieties of animals ?— 
It seems part of a wise design to prevent confusion in the 
animal creation. 

26. What are gregarious animals ?—Those which like to live 
in flocks and herds ; sheep and cattle are gregarious, and so 
are many birds, such as rooks, and a number of smaller birds 
at certain seasons. 

27. What are pairing animals ? —Those which pair, male and 
female, for a season, in order mutually to support their young 
until they are able to seek food for themselves. Small birds 
offer an example of pairing animals. A few birds pair for life. 

28. What are oviparous animals ?—Those produced from 
eggs ; they are called, oviparous from two Latin words, ovum , 
an egg, and pario , I produce. Birds are oviparous. 

29. What are viviparous animals ?—Those produced in a 


THE ANIMAL CREATION. 


5 !> 

living state ; they are called viviparous from the Latin words 
vivus, alive, and pario, I produce. 

30. What are ovoviparous animals ?■—Those within which the 
eggs are hatched before the young are produced ; the common 
lizard is an example. 

31. JVhat are digitigrade quadrupeds ?—Those which walk 
on their toes, of which the dog and cat are examples ; the 
term digitigrade is from the Latin digitus , a finger or toe, and 
gradior, I walk. 

32. What are plantigrade quadrupeds, ? —Those which walk 
on the sole of the foot, of which the hear is an example; 
the term plantigrade is from the Latin 
planta, the sole of the foot, and gradior , 

I walk. 

33. What are hybernating animals ? 

—Those which pass the winter in a 
secluded and dormant state, of which 
the bat is an example ; the term hyber- 
nating is from the Latin hiberno , 1 
winter. 

34. What are domesticated animals ? 

—Those which are usually reared in a tame state in asso¬ 
ciation with man, such as the dog, cat, fowls, pigeons, canary 
birds, the horse, ass, ox, and some others. 

35. What are amphibious animals ?—Those which can 
live either in water or on land, such as the frog; they are 
called amphibious, from two Greek words signifying a double 
life. 

36. What are parasitic animals ?—Those which habitually 
live within or upon other animals from which they draw their 
nourishment. There are parasitic plants as well as animals. 

37. What are reckoned the lowest forms of animal life ? —Those 
belonging to the Radiata. 

38. Mention some of the Radiata. —The Infusoria, or ani¬ 
malcules, so small as to be invisible to the naked eye, and 
usually found in stagnant water, also in sour beer, and some 
other liquids. 

39. Are these small creatures produced spontaneously in the 
liquids in which they are found ? —No; no animal whatever 
can be produced but from the germ of previous animals like 
itself. In animal, as in vegetable life, there is no spontaneous 
production. 

40. Was not the contrary once believed ?—It was. In ancient 
times there prevailed a belief that certain insects were pro- 






<30 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


duced by putrefaction ; and not long since, there was a notion 
that small eels could be produced by horse-hairs dropped 
into stagnant water. All such notions are now exploded. 

41. But have not conditions a 'powerful effect on animal life ? 
—Certainly ; but the conditions—as in the souring of beer— 
only aid the principles of reproduction. Without the condi¬ 
tions, the germ of the animal would remain dormant. 

42. What is the appearance of the Infusoria ? —They are 
of various grotesque forms. Some resemble branches of 
plants, some are like tulips, and some are twisted like screws. 
Those of one order are called Botifera , 
from the rotatory motion of certain 
organs which surround the mouth. 

43. How do these strange creatures 
propagate? —Some lay eggs;, but the 
greater number divide their bodies 
into parts, each of which becomes a 
new animal. 

44. What are Zoophytes ?—Ra- 

diata, so named from their resem¬ 
blance to growing plants, and which 
seem to form a connecting-link be¬ 
tween animal and vegetable life. Various forms 

45. What are the Corallifera? —One of Animalcules. 

of the orders of zoophytes, which raise great structures 
of coral from the bottom of the sea. 

46. Have sponges any connection with this order ? —Yes ; 
they are allied to the Corallifera, and are found chiefly in 
the Red and Mediterranean Seas. What we call sponge is 
the framework of the zoophyte cleared of the living matter. 

47. What are Polypi ? —A class of the radiata, so called 
from two Greek words signifying many feet. Some of them 
form floating fleshy masses, without organs of sense, and 
possess numerous arms or tentacula. When cut in pieces, 
each becomes an individual polypus. 

48 . What are the Medusae ? —Another class of the radiata, 
resembling floating masses of jelly, with depending tentacula, 
which may be seen in the ocean and also near the coast. 
The Physalis is a good example. 

49. What can be the use of the medusae ? —They are prob¬ 
ably of use in furnishing food to whales, also to the herring, 
and some other kinds of sea-fish. 

50. What, are the Entozoa ? —They are a class of the radiata, 
which parasitically live within the bodies of other animals. 






THE ANIMAL CREATION. 


61 


51. Mention one of the entozoa.— The hydatid, which is 
sometimes found in the brains of sheep, causing a fatal disease ; 
the germs of such creatures are under¬ 
stood to be introduced through the 
food. 

52. What kind of animals are the 
Mollusca , which form the second sub¬ 
kingdom ?—They consist of several 
classes of soft and pulpy animals, in- 
•cluding some shell-fish and snails. 

53. What are univalve shells ? —Those 
having one shell, of which there is an 
example in the limpet. 

54. What are bivalve shells ? —Those 

having two shells, of which there is an 
example in the oyster. The Physalis or 

55. What is meant by Gonchology ?— Portuguese Man-of-war, 
The branch of zoology connected with the study of shells. 

56. What animals are included in the sub-kingdom Articu- 
lata ?—Certain jointed animals, of which there is a well- 
known class called the Crustacea; in it are included crabs, 
lobsters, prawns, and barnacles. 

57. What is the barnacle ? —It is a shell-fish which attaches 
itself by a stem to the bottoms of ships, or any floating piece 
of wood ; also to branches of trees which hang over and touch 
the salt water. At one time it was thought that the barnacle 
hatched a kind of goose—a belief now known to be quite 
erroneous. 

58. Mention another well-known class in the Articulata. —The 
class Insecta, in which are comprehended an innumerable 



Examples of Insects belonging to the orders Coleoptera (5), Orthoptera (1), 
Hymenoptera (4), Lepidoptera (3), and Diptera (2). 

variety of genera and species, some being small creeping 
things, others being winged. 

59. Mention some of the insect orders .—The Coleoptera 





62 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


(beetles, glow-worms), tbe Orthoptera (grasshoppers), Hymenop - 
tera (bees), Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths), and Diptera 
(flies). 

60. What is meant by c insect transformation ?’ — The 
changes which insects undergo. The butterfly, for example, 
lays a great number of eggs, from each 

of which issues a ringed worm called 
the larva , or, familiarly, the cater¬ 
pillar. In time it assumes a shorter 
and harder form, and falls into a state 
of torpor, in which it is called the 
chrysalis. At length the exterior 
bursts, and there issues the butterfly 
or perfect insect. 

61. What is remarkable about the eyes 

of insects ?—They are usually much 
projected, and consist of a vast num¬ 
ber of distinct lenses, which enable Butterfly 

them to see on all sides. Transformations. 



62. How many lenses have been counted in the eye of a butter - 
fly ? —Seventeen thousand, making for the two eyes thirty-four 
thousand, each possessing the power of an eye. In addition 
to composite eyes of this kind, the bee has three simple eyes 
on- the top of its head. 

63. What are the antennce of insects ? —The antennoe are 
feelers—sometimes long, sometimes branched and feathered 
in the most beautiful manner, and with endless variety— 
projected from the front of the head, by which they can feel 
their way in the dark, or examine the nature of any object 
which they approach. 

64. What appears remarkable in the liouse-jly ? —Its power of 
walking with its back downwards on the ceiling. The soles 
of its feet are provided with suckers, and the air being 
-exhausted at every step, the animal holds readily on. 

65. Is there anything else curious about the house-fly ? —Like 
the bee and some other insects, the house-fly possesses a 
trunk, or proboscis, with which it draws up food to its mouth. 

66 . How many legs have the bee, house-fly , and other flying 
insects 1 —Six. 

67. Have not some insects the faculty of spinning ? —Yes ; the 
most remarkable is the Bombyx mori , or silk-worm. 

68. Explain how this insect spins. —When the silk-worm is 
in the caterpillar or larva- state, and about to become torpid, 
it winds from its mouth a clue of viscous thread, in which it 




THE ANIMAL CREATION. 


63 


enshrouds itself. This covering is called the cocoon, from 
which the fine thread is unwound by machinery, and forms 

silk. 

69. Do spiders belong to this sub-kingdom of animals ? —Yes, 
the house-spider, tarantula, and scorpion are included in the 
order Arachnida. The house-spider and small gossamer spider, 
as is well known, spin fine threads from the hinder part of 
their bodies, with which they weave webs to catch flies—all 
have eight legs. 

70. Mention a very small animal belonging to the Arachnida. 
—The mite in decayed cheese, which has eight legs, and 
breathes through tubes interspersed throughout its body. 

71. What is the fourth sub-hingdom in the animal creation? 
—The Vertebrata, or animals with back-bones. 

72. State hoiu the Vertebrata are classified. —They constitute 
four classes— Pisces, or Fishes; Reptilia, or Reptiles; Aves, 
or Birds ; and Mammalia, or Suck-giving Animals. 

73. What is remarlcdble about Fishes ? —They swim in the 
water, and propel themselves by fins ; they breathe through 
gills, and their blood is cold. 

74. What is the nature of the Reptilia ?—They mostly creep 
on four feet, and, like the fish, are cold-blooded; but they 
breathe with lungs. 

75. Mention some of the orders of reptiles ? —The Sauria 
compose an important order, in which are included the 
crocodile, alligator, lizard, and chameleon. The order Ophidia 
includes serpents and snakes. The tortoise and turtle are 
included in the order Chelonia, and the toad and frog in the 
Batrachia. 

76. What is the early condition of toads and frogs? —They 
pass through the state of tadpoles, living like fishes, before 
they appear as perfect animals. 

77. Describe the Birds, or third class of Vertebrata. —All are 
covered with feathers, they walk on two feet, they fly by 
means of wings, and they are reproduced from eggs. 

78. How many orders are in this class ? —Seven—the Nata- 
tores, or Swimmers ; the Grallatores, or Waders ; the Gursores, 
or Runners ; the Rasores, or Scrapers ; the Insessores, or 
Perching Birds ; the Raptores, or Rapacious Birds; and the 
Scansores, or Climbing Birds. 

79. Mention som>e of the best-known Natatores. —Ducks, geese, 
swans, and sea-gulls, which, like others in the same order, are 
distinguished by web-feet for swimming. 


C4 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


8o. Mention some of the Grallatores ?—The stork, heron, 
crane, pelican, and snipe. All have long legs, enabling them 



Examples of each of the Seven Orders of Birds. 

to wade in marshes, on the sea-shore, and within the margins 
of rivers, where, with their long hills, they pick up small fish 
and other food. 

81. What birds are included in the Cur sores'? —The emu, 
cassowary, nandu, and ostrich, all of which possess long and 
powerful limbs for running. 

82. Explain the nature of the Rasores. —The rasores, as their 
name imports, are birds which scrape for their food ; familiar 
examples are the common hen, pheasant, turkey, peacock, 
grouse, and pigeon. The rasores are otherwise called Gal¬ 
linaceous birds, from the Latin word gallus , a cock. 

83. How are the pigeon tribes separately distinguished ? —As 
the Columbidce, from the Latin, columba, a pigeon. They 
embrace numerous species and varieties, the turtle-dove being 
one of them. 

84. JVhat birds are included in the order Raptores ?—The 
vulture, eagle, falcon, hawk, and owl, are well-known examples 
of this rapacious order of birds. 

85. Which are the Insessores, or perching birds ?—Many 
small birds, including the sparrow, thrush, swallow*, night¬ 
ingale, lark, bullfinch, magpie, crow, and rook; also a 
beautiful animal, the bird of paradise, and many others. 

86 . Mention some examples of the Scansores , or climbing 
birds. —The parrot, cockatoo, and wood-pecker. 

87. Describe the class Mammalia , or such-giving animals .— 
This is the highest kind of animals, as regards either organis¬ 
ation or intelligence ; the class is divided into various orders. 

88. Refer to some of the orders. —One consists of the Marsupi- 
alia, or pouched annuals, among which are included the 
kangaroo and opossum, v r hich carry their young in pouches. 



THE ANIMAL CREATION. 


65 


Another order is the Monotremata, to which the ornithorhyn- 
chus of Australia belongs. 

89. Mention another order .—The Insectivora, which includes 
hedgehogs, moles, shrews, and other obscure animals. 

90. Proceed .—The order Rodentia , or gnawing animals, 
comprehending the squirrel, rat, mouse, beaver, hare, and 
guinea-pig. 



Examples of Animals belonging to the orders Marsupialia, Insectivora, 
Rodentia, Ruminantia, Pacbydermata, and Carnivora. 


91. Are there not some marine mammalia ? —Yes ; the 
order of the Cetacea , which includes dolphins, porpoises, and 
whales ; and the family of Phocidce , or seals. 

92. What animals are included in the order Ruminantia ? — 
The camel, stag, antelope, goat, sheep, cow, giraffe, and 
buffalo ; all live on grass, and derive their name as an order, 
from ‘ ruminating ’ or chewing the cud. 

93. Which compose the order Pachydermata? —This term 
implies animals with a thick skin ; in this order are included 
the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, tapir, hog, horse, and 
ass. 

94. Which animals are comprehended in the order Carnivora ? 
Those which live on flesh, and are provided with teeth for the 
purpose ; in this order are very ferocious wild animals. 

95. How is the order carnivora divided ? —Into five families, 
the first of which is the Felidce, or cat-tribe, including the 
domestic and wild cat, lion, tiger, leopard, and lynx ; all 
possessing great power of leaping on and devouring prey. 

96. Which is the second family of carnivora ?—The Canidce 
or dog-tribe, which includes the dog, wolf, fox, and jackal. 

97. Which animals compose the order Cheiroptera? —The 
cheiroptera are generally creatures which fly about by night, 
and live on insects, of which the bat is a well-known 
specimen. 

98. What does Linnaeus call this order of animals ? —He 





66 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


employs the Latin term Vespertilio, which is significant of 
their flying about in the evening. 

99. What animals compose the order Quadrumana All 
kinds of monkeys and lemurs ; the term quadrumana signi¬ 
fying four hands, which these creatures may be said to pos¬ 
sess for the sake of climbing. In this order are included the 
orang-outang, the chimpanzee, and the gorilla — animals 
-approaching in figure to man. 

100. To what order is man assigned ?—The order Bimana, or 
two-handed, in which he stands alone. 


Ethnology, 

1. What is Ethnology ?—It is the branch of knowledge which 
treats of the varieties or different races of men, their manners, 
and character ; the term is from the Greek ethnos , a nation. 

2. In what respect is man at the head of the animal creation ? 
—He is so as regards superiority of structure and intelligence, 
and as possessing a moral nature, or consciousness of right 
-and wrong. 

3. Why is man said to be an accountable being ? —Because, 
being able to distinguish right from wrong, he is accountable 
to God for his actions. 

4. In what respect does the intelligence of the lower animals 
differ from that of man ? —The intelligence of the lower 
animals is of an inferior character, ordinarily defined by the 
term instinct , by which they are guided, and can be cultivated 
only to a limited extent; whereas the intelligence of man is 
large and expansible, and may be transmitted according to the 
lessons of experience from generation to generation. 

5. What are the varieties in the races of man? —There are 
usually said to be five varieties—the Caucasian, the Mongolian, 
the Malayan, the American Indian, and the Negro. 

6. Describe the Caucasian. —The Caucasian variety of man 
is white, or nearly so, and is the most improvable of all the 
ra'ces ; it is the Caucasian variety which inhabits the greater 
part of Europe. 

7. Why is the race called Caucasian ? —Because it was 
supposed to have originated in, and spread out from, the 
mountainous district of the Caucasus in Asia. 



ETHNOLOGY. 


67 


8 . What is the Anglo-Saxon race ?—It is that, branch of the 
Caucasian variety which takes its name from certain German 
or Teutonic tribes who settled in Great Britain. 



Examples of the Caucasian, Mongolian, Malayan, American Indian, 
and Negro races. 


9. What is the Celtic race ? —It is another branch of the 
Caucasian variety, which settled in the British Islands, in 
France, and in other parts of Europe, at a very early period. 

10. Describe the Mongolian variety. —The Mongolians are 
so called from the Mongols, a people of Central Asia ; they 
have squarish heads, flattish faces, olive complexions, and 
eyes pointing obliquely downwards, and they are remarkable 
for adherence to old usages ; they inhabit Central Asia, China, 
Japan, and some other countries. 

11. Describe the Malayan variety. —The Malayans are so 
called from the peninsula of Malaya, in India beyond the 
Ganges ; they have a brown skin, heads slightly narrowed at 
the top, and are reputed to be fierce and often treacherous. 

12. Describe the American Indian variety. —The American 
Indians have a narrow head, red or copper-coloured skins, and 
can scarcely be induced to adopt settled habits. 

13. Describe the Negro variety. —The negro races have black 
skins and eyes, receding foreheads, woolly hair ; in character, 
they are lively and docile, and disposed to submit to a state 
of servitude ; their native country is Africa, whence great 
numbers have been carried off as slaves. 

14. What is a slave ? —A slave is a person deprived of his 
civil rights, and who ? being bought like one of the lower 
animals, is dependent in all respects on the will of his owner. 

15. What are civil rights ?■ —The right which every one has 
by nature to dispose of his own person, to cultivate his mind, 
and to improve his condition by any honest line of industry 
that is suitable to his capacity—the enjoyment of such rights 
being called freedom. 


68 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


16. What are serfs ?■—Serfs were persons held in perpetual 
bondage, sometimes as domestic servants, but more frequently 
as rural labourers, who were sold along with the estates on 
which they lived. 

17. Was the condition of serfdom common? —Yes; serfdom 
or some other form of slavery was common in all ancient 
nations; and, until lately, it existed to a large extent in 
Russia. 

18. What circumstances tend to degrade races of men ? —A 
long course of misusage, want of proper food and raiment, 
want of education, and hopelessness in the future, all tend to 
brutalise races. 

19. Is colour in the skin an effect of circumstances ? —To a 
certain extent this is the case ; it being observable that 
exposure to the sun in hot climates tends to darken the com¬ 
plexion ; but from whatever cause, the colour in the negro 
races is not on the surface of the skin, but seems part of the 
natural constitution. 

20. Explain the nature of the skin. —The skin is a porous 
covering of three layers ; the outer layer, which is very thin, 
is called the cuticle or epidermis; and the innermost is the 
cutis vera, or true skin ; between the two is a layer of pulpy 
net-work, called the rete mucosum , in which is the colouring 
matter of the darker races. 

21. What are the senses ? —Sight, hearing, taste, smell, and 
touch. 

22. Where is the recognised seat of the mind ?—In the brain, 
or centre of sensation ; an organ charged by Almighty Power 
with the functions of thought—the mind itself, which acts 
through the brain, being regarded as a spiritual essence 
destined to survive the dissolution of matter. 

23. Are we to understand that man consists of two things, a 
perishable body and an immortal spirit Yes ; it is on the 
basis of this immortality of the spirit or soul after death that 
man rests his religious hopes and feelings. 

24. What are heathens ? —People who have no proper con¬ 
ception of the true God, and worship idols ; the word pagans 
has a similar meaning. 

25. In what state are mankind at present ?—A large number 
are in the condition of heathens and savages ; others are in a 
half-civilised state, and in the way of improvement; and 
lastly, there are nations, such as those of Europe generally, in 
an advanced state of civilisation and refinement. 



CHRONOLOGY. 


69 


Chronology. 

1. What is Chronology ?—It is that department of know¬ 
ledge which relates to the reckoning of time; the term is from 
the Greek chronos, time, and logos , a discourse. 

2. What is an era ?—An era is a period commencing with a 
fixed point of time, from which a series of years is begun to be 
reckoned—as, for example, the Christian era, dating from the 
birth of Christ; the Hebrew era, from the creation of the 
world, as narrated in Genesis ; and the Roman era, from the 
traditionary date of the foundation of Rome, 753 b.c. 

3. When did the era of the ancient Greeks begin ?—It began 
with the first year of the first Olympiad, which is calculated 
to have commenced at midsummer 776 b.c. 

4. What is the Mohammedan era 1 —It commences with the 
13th of September 622 a.d., the date of the flight of Moham¬ 
med from Mecca to Medina, and is called the Hegira (‘flight’). 

5. Has every country reckoned the year as of the same length ? 
—No ; the general ignorance of the true length of a year has 
given rise to considerable differences of reckoning, a circum¬ 
stance which causes perplexity in comparing one era with 
another. 

6. What is a Solar Year ? —It is the length of time occupied 
by the earth in its revolution round the sun; and averages 
365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 49 seconds. 

7. What was the length of the year as calculated by the 
ancient Egyptians ?■ —It was 365 days, by which short reckoning 
the festivals gradually shifted from their true anniversary. 

8 . What was the length of year as calculated by the Greeks ? 
—It was 365 J days. 

9. What was the character of the Roman reckoning ?—It was 
confused and unsatisfactory, until the calendar was rectified 
by Julius Ca)sar. 

10. What was the Julian Calendar ? —It consisted in the 
adoption by Julius Caesar of the Greek plan of reckoning, 
that the year should consist of 365^- days. To dispose of the 
odd quarter, the 24th of February was doubled every fourth 
year ; the day so interposed being called bissextile. 

11. What was the defect of the Julian calendar ?— It made 
the year about 11 minutes too long, and this extension 
amounted to 3 days in nearly 400 years. 


70 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


12. How long did the Julian calendar remain in use ?—' Until 
1582, when Pope Gregory XIII. abolished it, and instituted a 
a new and improved calendar, which, from his name, is known 
as the Gregorian calendar. 

13. Describe the Gregorian Calendar. —It consisted, in the first 
place, of dropping .10 days, and then rectifying the future 
excess of nearly 11 minutes annually. 

14. How was the excess rectified ? —By the simple plan of 
arranging that the last year of each century should not be a 
leap-year, unless it were also the last year of a period of four 
centuries. This rectification errs by only one day in 4000 years. 

15. What are ‘ Old’ and ‘New Styles V— They are the methods 
of reckoning prescribed by the Julian and Gregorian calendars. 

16. Was new style generally adopted l —No ; it was at first 
adopted only by Roman Catholic states ; some of the chief 
Protestant states adopted it in 1700 ; Great Britain and Ireland 
adopted it in 1752. 

17. How was new style adopted in Great Britain and Ireland ? 
—It was adopted by an act of parliament, 1751, which enacted 
that 11 days should be omitted after the 2d of September 
1752, so that the 3d day should be the 14th. 

18. What is now the difference between old and new style ?— 
The difference is 12 days, for as the year 1800 was not a leap- 
year, 1 day is added to the former number. 

19. What Christian nation still adheres to old style ? — 
Russia. Eastern Christians also adhere to it. 

20. Why is a leap-year so called ?—Because every fourth 
year a day is leaped over. Common years advance a single 
day; if the 1st of March is a Monday, next year it will be 
Tuesday ; but if leap-year, it will be Wednesday—leaping 
over Tuesday. 

21. How do we know which is a leap-year ? —By dividing the 
number of the year by 4, if nothing remains, it is a leap-year. 
This rule, however, will not hold good with the year 1900, as 
it is not a four-hundredth year (see Question 14 ). 

22. What is meant by a Civil Year ?— It is a year as com¬ 
monly reckoned, consisting of 365 days for common years, and 
366 days for leap-years. 

23. When does the civil year begin and end ?—It begins at 
12 o’clock midnight of the 31st of December, and ends at 12 
o’clock on the night of the 31st of December. 

24. When did the ancients begin the year ?— The Athenians 


CHRONOLOGY. 71 

began the year in June; the Romans first in March, and after¬ 
wards in January—the practice was very various. 

25. What was the 'practice previous to the reform of the 
calendar ? —The common legal practice was to begin the year 
on the 25 th of March—a most awkward arrangement, for the 
early part of March belonged legally to one year, and the 
latter part to another. To add to the confusion, the ist of 
January was popularly recognised as the beginning of the year. 

26. When was the New-year's Day changed from the 25 th of 
March to the 1 st of January ?— This change was effected 
gradually. The ist of January was adopted legally by France 
in 1563, by Scotland in 1600, and by England and Ireland at 
the change of the style, 1752. 

27. Give an example of the method of writing the dates of 
events previous to 1752.—The execution of Charles I. offers a 
well-known example. It occurred January 30, 1648—1649 > 
that is to say, 1648 by the old reckoning, and 1649 by the 
reckoning now in use. 

28. When does a century begin and end? —It begins with 1, 
and ends with 100 ; for example, the 18th century began with 
1701, and ended with 1800; accordingly, 1801 was the first 
year in the 19th century. 

29. What is the origin of the term ‘Month?’ —It signified 
originally the time occupied by the moon in revolving round 
the earth, which is rather more than 29^ days ; 28 days are 
sometimes, for convenience, called a lunar month. 

30. What is a Civil or Calendar Month ? —It is a certain 
number of days, 30 or 31, in all the months but February, 
which has 28 in common, and 29 in leap-years. 

31. When were the months named and arranged? —The 
calendar months, twelve in number, received their names 
from the Romans, and were arranged by Julius Ccesar almost 
as they now appear. 

32. Mention why the p'esent names were given to the respec¬ 
tive months by the Romans — 

1. January is so called from Janus, who, according to the 
Roman mythology, was god of the year, and presided over 
the commencement of all undertakings. 

2. February takes its name from the Latin februo, I purify; 
because in this month the Romans had certain religious 
ceremonials designed for moral purification. 

3. March is named from Mars, the god of war, and supposed 
father of Romulus, the founder of Rome. 

4. April is derived from aperio, to open, because in this 
month vegetation began to open and bud. 


72 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


5. May is either from majorcs, old men, or from Maia , 
mother of Mercury, to whom sacrifices were made on the 
first day. 

6. June is either from Juno, or from juniores, young men, 
to whom the month was dedicated. 

7. July is from Julius, and was so named by Augustus, in 
honour of Julius Caesar. 

8 . August is named in honour of Augustus. 

9. September is from septem, seven; this having been the 
seventh month, when the Romans began the year with March. 

10. October; n. November; 12. December; these name3 
respectively signify eighth, ninth, and tenth, and were given 
when March was reckoned the first month. 

33. How did the Romans divide the month ? —They divided 
the month into three periods— Calends, Nones, and Ides, and 
an event was said to have occurred so many days before these 
divisions, as the case might be. 

34. Had the Ch'eeJcs calends ? —No ; hence the ironical Roman 
phrase, ad Grcecas Calendas, ‘at the Greek calends/ meaning 
never. When a thing is said to be postponed t to the Greek 
calends/ it is equivalent to saying that it ‘ will never take place/ 

35. What is a week ? —It is a period of seven days, or about a 
quarter of a lunar month ; the week is a very ancient division 
of time, not only among the Hebrews, as derived from the 
seven days of creation, but among the ancient Egyptians, 
Chinese, and Hindus. 

36. What is the origin of the English names of the days 
of the week ? —The names are derived from the Saxons and 
Scandinavians, and are as follows : Sunday, is named from the 
Sun; Monday, from the Moon ; Tuesday, from Tuesco, the god 
of war ; Wednesday, from Woden, the chief Scandinavian 
deity ; Thursday, from Thor, the Saxon god of thunder ; 
Friday, from Friga, the wife of Woden ; and Saturday, from 
Seater, the Scandinavian equivalent for Saturn. 

37. What are the names of the days of the week employed in 
the records of parliament ?—Dies Solis, for Sunday ; Dies 
Dunce, Monday ; Dies Martis, Tuesday ; Dies Mercurii, Wed¬ 
nesday ; Dies Jovis , Thursday; Dies Veneris, Friday ; and 
Dies Saturni, Saturday. 

38. What is the origin of these Latin names ?—They are 
derived from the names of heathen deities, according to the 
Roman mythology. The French names of the days of the 
week are for the most part derived from these Latin names— 
for example, Mercredi, Wednesday; and Mardi , Tuesday. 






CHRONOLOGY. 


73 

39. What is the origin of the word ‘ Sabbath V— Sabbath is 
from a Hebrew word signifying rest, and was applied to the 
last or seventh day of the week, because God is represented as 
having rested from the work of creation on that day, and 
ordained in commemoration of that event, that the day should 
ever be marked by a total cessation of labour. Among Chris¬ 
tians, Sunday is the day of rest or Sabbath, and is otherwise 
termed the ‘ Lord’s Day.’ 

40. When did the Hebrews begin their weekly Sabbath ? — 
They began it at sunset on the sixth day (Friday), and ended 
it at sunset on the seventh (Saturday); this arrangement being 
determined by Scriptural phraseology—‘ and the evening and 
the morning were the first day.’ 

41. Has any attempt ever been made to substitute new 
divisions of time for the ordinary months and weeks? —Yes ; 
the French revolutionists, attempted by law to introduce a 
new calendar ; in 1793 they decreed that the era of the 
republic should begin with, or be dated from, the 22d of 
September 1792. 

42. What principle did the French adopt as regards the 
months ? —They divided the year into twelve months of 30 
days each, leaving the extra five days in common years, and 
six in leap-years to be devoted to festivals or holidays. 

43. Mention the names of the months according to the 
French revolutionary calendar. —Beginning with the 22d of 
September, they had as follows; Vendemiaire, or Vintage 
month; Brumaire, Fog month ; Frimaire, Sleet month; 
Nivose, Snow month : Pluviose, Bain month ; Ventose, Wind 
month; Germinal, Spring or Sprouting month; Floreal, 
Flower month ; Prairial, Pasture month ; Messidor, Harvest 
month ; Thermidor, Hot month ; and Fructidor, Fruit month. 

44. Mention the festivals on the extra five days ?—The 1st 
festival (September 17) was dedicated to the Virtues ; the 
2d to Genius; the 3d to Labour ; the 4th to Opinion ; and 
the 5 th to Rewards. 

45. What did the French substitute for weeks ? —They divided 
each month into three parts of ten days each. These parts 
were called Decades, from the Greek word deca, ten. 

46. What were the names of the days in a Decade ? —The 
names, adopted, with the exception of the last, from the Latin 
numerals, signifying first day, second day, &c., were as follows : 
Primidi, Duodi, Tridi, Quartidi, Quintidi, Sextidi, Septidi, Octidi , 
Nonidi, and Decadi. The last day, Decadi, was the day of rest. 

47. How long was the French revolutionary calendar in use ? 


74 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


—It remained in use until, by a decree of Napoleon, tlie old 
calendar was resumed on the ist of January 1806. 

48. What is a Cycle ?—A cycle is a circle or period of time, 
on the completion of which certain phenomena return in the 
same order. 

49. Describe a Lunar Cycle. —A lunar cycle is a period of 
nineteen solar years, during which the phases of the moon 
occur differently every year, and after which they recommence 
in the same order. 

50. What is a Metonic Cycle ?— That is a name often given 
to a lunar cycle, and is so called from its discoverer, Meton, 
who flourished at Athens about 432 b. c. 

51. JVhy does a Lunar or Metonic Cycle occupy nineteen 
years ?—Because the period of nineteen years is nearly equal 
to 235 lunations (revolutions of the moon round the earth), 
and it is only after going through this circle of time, that 
the new and full moons occur on the same day of the year as 
previously. 

52. What is tlce ‘ Golden Number V —It is the number of 
any year in the series of nineteen composing a lunar cycle. 
For example, the golden number of the first year is 1, and of 
the last year 19. 

53. Why is it called the ‘ Golden Number V —Because the 
number of each year in the lunar or Metonic cycle was ordered 
by the Greeks to be inscribed in letters of gold on pillars of 
marble. 

54. How do we learn what is the golden number of any 
particular year ? —By a simple arithmetical calculation, based 
on the principle that in the year 1 b. c. the new moon fell on 
the ist of January, and will fall on the same day every 19th 
year from that time. 

55. Give the rule for finding the golden number. —Add 1 to 
the number of years, and divide by 19; the quotient will be 
the number of cycles since 1 b. c., and the remainder will be 
the golden number ; if there be no remainder, then 19 is the 
golden number, and that year is the last of the cycle. 

56. Present an example. —Wanted to know the golden 
number for 1865, add 1, which will make 1866 ; divide by 19, 
the quotient is 98, and the remainder is 4, which is the golden 
number for 1865—in other words, the lunar cycle which 
comprehends 1865 began in 1862. 

57. What is the rule for determining Easter in any particular 
year ? —Easter is always the first Sunday after first full moon 
on or after the 21st of March. The Easter festival is 





CHRONOLOGY. 75 

therefore never before the 22d of March, or after the 25th of 
April. 

58. What is a Sidereal day ?— It is the time occupied by the 
earth in its diurnal rotation, which is 23 hours, 56 minutes, 
and 4 seconds. 

59. Why is the term 1 sidereal' employed? —Because, on 
making a complete rotation, the earth has the same spot 
opposite a fixed star—the term sidereal being from the Latin 
sidics, a star. 

60. What is a Solar day ? —It is the time occupied by the 
earth in returning to the same position relative to the sun, 
which is, on an average, 24 hours. 

61. Why should the earth require 24 hours to return to 
he opposite the sun, while it returns to be opposite a star in 

23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds? —Because stars are fixed 
points in the heavens, while the sun daily shifts a little in its 
relative position. 

62. What is a Civil day ? —It is a solar day, or, more strictly, 

24 hours, which length of time is adopted as a convenient 
measurement by civil society. 

63. What is meant by l mean time ?’—It is time as shewn by 
clocks and watches, which give only a regular average of 24 
hours a day, and not the precise length of the fluctuating solar 
day. This general average, one part of the year with another, 
is mean time. 

64. Do sun-dials shew mean time ? —No ; sun-dials indicate 
the exact or true time according to the sun, and therefore do 
not correspond exactly with clocks and watches. 

65. How has the civil day been divided ? —Into 24 hours, 
each hour consisting of 60 minutes, and each minute con¬ 
sisting of 60 seconds. Usually, the 24 hours of the day are 
divided into two portions of 12 hours each—12 o’clock 
midnight to 12 o’clock noon, and 12 o’clock noon to 12 o’clock 
midnight. 

66 . Is the division of time into hours natural or artificial ?— 
The division is quite artificial; there is nothing in nature to 
suggest any uniform subdivision of the day. 

67. How are the hours designated ? —The hours from 12 
noon to midnight are designated post meridiem (after mid-day), 
and the hours from midnight to noon are said to be ante 
meridiem (before mid-day). The abbreviations p. M. and A. M. 
are ordinarily employed. 

68. When does the civil day begin ?—Immediately after 


76 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


12 o’clock midnight, but this is a comparatively modem 
arrangement. 

69. What is Horology ?—It is the department of chrono¬ 
logy referring to hours and their subdivisions; the term is 
from two Greek words signifying hour and discourse. 

70. When were clocks invented for measuring time ?—The 
earliest known clock was invented by Henry de Vic or De 
Wyck, a German, in 1379 ; but the pendulum, as a regulating 
power in clocks, was introduced by Huygens, a celebrated 
Dutch astronomer, as late as 1657. 


Language, Literature, &c. 

1. What is Philology ? —It is the science which treats of 
the nature and relations of languages. 

2. What is Etymology ? —It is a department of Philology 
devoted to the examination of words, as regards their origin 
and formation. 

3. How many languages are there in the world ? —There are 
many hundreds, but certain groups of them are so like one 
another, that the members of each group may be considered 
as varieties of one tongue. 

4. What are the Semitic languages ?—They‘are those languages 
spoken by the nations which sprung immediately from Shem, 
one of the sons of Noah ; to this class belong the Hebrew, the 
Chaldee, and the Arabic. 

5. What are the Indo-Germanic or Indo-European lan¬ 
guages ? —They are a numerous class, prevailing in Asia and 
Europe, traceable to tribes who at a remote period called 
themselves Aryans, and who peopled the north of India and 
Persia : to this group belong the Sanscrit, Hindustani, Greek, 
Latin, Celtic, German, English, and many other tongues. 

6 . What is meantby 1 classical language V —The term is applied 
to a pure and dignified form of language, adapted for expressing 
the higher order of thoughts ; the word classical is from the 
Latin classis, signifying a class or order of Roman citizens. 

7. Which languages are ordinarily spoken of as classical ? _ 

The ancient Greek and Latin languages, both now disused as 
spoken tongues, but known to us by the finest compositions of 
ancient literature. It is also customary to speak of the Sanscrit 
as the classical language of India. 



77 


LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, ETC. 

8. JVhat is meant by the ‘ divarication of languages V —It 
means the breaking of a language into two or more separate 
languages, through corruptions and other circumstances. 

9. Give an example.—The modern French, Italian, Spanish, 
and Portuguese are divarications of the Latin ; the peculiari¬ 
ties in each being traceable to some local circumstances. 

10. What is a Dialect ? —It is a peculiar or local form of 
a language ; the Lowland Scotch speech, for example, is 
regarded as a dialect of the English. 

11. What is meant by a ‘patois V —‘Patois’ is a French 
term for the corrupted dialect spoken by the illiterate classes, 
which is rarely seen in literature. 

12. What is Literature ? —It is the writing contained in 
books in ancient and modern times, and has a variety of 
departments—history, theology, philosophy, poetry, prose 
fiction, and other kinds of writing. 

13. Of what does ancient literature chiefly consist ? —Of the 
writings of the Hebrews, Chinese, Hindus, Greeks, and 
Homans. 

14. What are the best specimens of ancient Hebrew literature ? 
—The books of the Old Testament. 

15. What is the Talmud ? —It is the name given to the 
book which comprehends the Jewish law, both written and 
oral, together with the commentaries of learned Hebrews. 
Those who attach importance to these traditions are called 
Talmudists. The word Talmud is from the Hebrew lamad, to 
teach. 

16. What is meant by 1 the Canon of Scripture V —It signi¬ 
fies the Scriptures which have been established as authentic 
by the decision of councils of the church ; the term canon , in 
Greek, means a rule or standard. The ‘ sacred canon’ compre¬ 
hends the whole of the Scriptures except the Apocrypha. 

17. What is meant by the Apocrypha ?—The term Apocrypha 
is from a Greek word signifying that which is hidden, but 
latterly anything spurious, or false, or without authority; it 
is now applied to certain books which have been rejected 
from the canon of Scripture as being of doubtful authenticity, 
or not worthy to be included in the Holy Bible. 

18. What is the meaning of the word 1 Bible V —It is from 
the Greek biblos, a book, and is applied to the whole of the 
Old and New Testament Scriptures. 

19. What are the languages in which the Bible was^ origin¬ 
ally written ? —The old Testament was written mainly in 


78 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


Hebrew, but partly also in Chaldee, and the Hew Testament 
in Greek. 

20. What is meant by a ‘ Targum ? ’—The word targum 
is Hebrew, and signifies interpretation; it is applied to certain 
ancient Chaldee versions of the Pentateuch and other parts of 
Scripture ; also to some versions of more modem date ; there 
are therefore several Targum s. 

21. What is Rabbinical Literature ? —It consists of a vast 
array of works, chiefly in Hebrew and Arabic, by learned 
rabbis (masters or teachers), which treat mainly of questions 
springing out of the law, but occasionally branching out into 
the wider realms of philosophy, history, grammar, and poetry. 
Rabbinical literature began after the return from captivity ; 
in fact, it is just another name for Jewish literature. 

22. Who were the Essenes ? —They were a fraternity among 
the Jews previous to and after the birth of Christ; their 
history is involved in considerable obscurity, but it is known 
that they were ascetics who aspired to excessive ceremonial 
purity according to the Levitical law. 

23. Who were the Gnostics ?—They were early Christian sects, 
who derived their name from the Greek word gnosis, know¬ 
ledge, as applied to revealed religion. They considered that, 
from their superior philosophical perceptions, they had come to 
* know ’ the nature of those truths which common Cliristians 
could only 1 believe.’ Hence they elevated Gnosis above Pistis 
(faith). The religious belief of the Gnostics was tinctured with 
the mysticism of the East and the philosophy of the Greeks. 

24. What was the Septuagint ? —It was a Greek version of 
the original Hebrew Old Testament, executed, according to the 
story recorded by Josephus and Philo, about 280 years b.c., 
and was so called from being, according to the story recorded 
by Josephus, the work of seventy , or, more strictly, seventy-two 
translators. 

25. What is meant by ‘ the Vulgate V —It signifies a transla¬ 
tion of the Scriptures into Latin—which was the vulgar or 
common tongue of the Romans—and is said to have been 
executed about 380 a.d. 

26. When ivas the first English version of the whole Bible 
executed? —In 1535, by Myles Coverdale; but the New 
Testament and a part of the Old had been executed a few 
years previously by William Tyndale. 

27. When was the present authorised version of the Bible 
executed? —It was prepared between 1607—1610, by a body 
of eminent scholars, at the request of James I. of England, 


LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, ETC. 


79 


and is prized for its fidelity; a considerable portion of it, 
however, is taken from the previous excellent version of 
Tyndale. 

28. What is meant by ‘ an apostle V —The term apostle is 
from the Greek apostolos , signifying one who is deputed or 
sent from—that is, 1 from God/ and is applied in the New 
Testament to one who is commissioned to preach the Gospel 
of Christ. 

29. What is meant by 1 Gospel V —Gospel is from the Saxon 
god or good, and spell, a narration, and signifies a good history, 
or intelligence of good events—good news. 

30. What was the ancient form of books ? —Books were 
originally written on finely-prepared skins or parchment, 
united together in rolls ; all the Scriptures in use among the 
ancient Hebrews were in this form. 

31. What was papyrus ? —It was a preparation of the stems 
of the papyrus, an Egyptian plant, employed as a substitute 
for parchment; the word paper is derived from the papyrus. 

32. What is the origin of the word 1 library V —It is from 
liber, Latin for book. 

33. Explain the origin of the word ‘volume.’ —The books of 
the Romans were in the form of rolls wound round small 
wooden rollers ; these roll-books were called volumina —hence 
the English word volume. 

34. How were books prepared before the invention of printing ? 
—Among the Greeks and Romans, by professional transcribers, 
who were usually employed to write copies of books for gene¬ 
ral circulation ; in the middle ages, when books assumed their 
present shape, the work of transcription was executed by 
certain industrious orders of monks. The process of trans¬ 
cription was tedious and costly. 

35. What are Palimpsests ?—A palimpsest is a book in 
parchment, from which the ancient classical writing was 
effaced, in order that the pages might receive writing of a 
later, generally monkish kind—the want of paper necessitating 
this extraordinary expedient : the word palimpsest is from two 
Greek words, signifying to efface and to use again. 

36. Where are palimpsests to be seen ?—A few may be seen 
in libraries and museums ; in some instances, the original 
writing in a palimpsest has been recovered by a chemical 
preparation. 

37. What is 1 Bibliography V —Bibliography is a term 
applied to the proper cataloguing and describing of books; 
the person who undertakes such work is called a bibliographer. 


80 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


38. Wliat is the ‘ Index Expur gat or ius ? ’—It is the name 
given to a catalogue of books which papal authority has pro¬ 
hibited being read by members of the Roman Catholic Church, 
on account of their supposed heretical or otherwise improper 
character. The business of the tribunal is conducted by a 
special body of officials at Rome. 

39. How did the term ‘ Stationer' originate ?—When books 
were multiplied by the invention of printing, they were sold 
by booksellers at stalls stationed at the gates of universities 
and other places ; hence, booksellers became known as station - 
arii, or stationers, by which designation they were long chiefly 
known. 

40. What are the Vedas ? —They are the most ancient and 
most authoritative Hindu books on religious subjects. They 
are in Sanscrit. 

41. What are the Pur anas ? —They are later Hindu writings 
containing the creeds and rites of the various Hindu sects of 
modern times. 

42. What is the Shaster ?—Shaster or Shastra means simply 
a book ; but the term is especially applied to the authoritative 
religious and legal books of the Hindus. 

43. Who was Confucius ?—He was a Chinese sage and 
moralist, who was born about 550 b. c., and wrote several 
works inculcating justice, honesty, benevolence, and other 
virtues, which have been greatly esteemed. The peculiar 
interest attaching to Confucius lies in this, that his system 
of religion, or rather morality, is regarded as the most faithful 
expression of the Chinese mind. 

44. What is the Koran ? —It is the sacred book or bible of 
the Mohammedans, composed in Arabic by Mohammed ; the 
word Koran is from the Arabic Jcaraa , to read or teach. 

45. What was the Zendavesta ?—It was the sacred book or 
bible of the ancient Persians, so called from the Zend lan¬ 
guage, which formerly prevailed in Persia; it is ascribed in 
part to Zoroaster. 

46. What are the two great varieties of literature ?—Prose 
and poetry. 

47. What is Poetry ? —It is any production of the imagi¬ 
nation expressed in language or loftily-conceived thoughts 
expressed in spoken or written wordsi 

48. Must poetry be in the form of verse ? —No ; it often appears 
in the form, of prose, as is exemplified in Job and some other 
books in the Old Testament, also in the poems of Ossian. 

49. What are the principal hinds of poetry ?—The Epic, the 


LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, ETC. 81 

Lyric, and the Dramatic; there are likewise Didactic and 
some other varieties of poetical composition. 

50. What is Eyic poetry ?■ —Epic is from the Greek epos, a 
word, a discourse, or narrative; an epic poem is a narrative 
of events, which may be either real or fictitious, or partly 
both. The heroic epic, such as the Iliad and Odyssey of 
Homer, or the Paradise Lost of Milton, is considered the 
grandest species of poetical composition. 

51. What is Lyric poetry ? —Lyric is from the Greek lyra, a 
lyre ; lyric poetry is so called from having been originally 
accompanied by the music of the lyre. It concerns itself 
with the more delicate emotions, and embraces songs of the 
affections and feelings. 

52. Mention some of the varieties of lyrics— Hymns or 
spiritual songs, anthems, love-songs, war-songs, elegies, and 
odes. 

53. What is an Ode ? —Ode is from the Greek, and 
signifies literally a song ; but it is applied specially to -songs 
or verses which consist of passionate addresses to persons and 
things. 

54. What is an Idyll ? —Idyll is from a Greek word signi¬ 
fying a little image, and is usually applied to any poem 
depicting simple scenes of pastoral or village life. 

55. Give an example of an idyll. —The Book of Ruth is an 
idyll; and so likewise are Burns’s Cottar's Saturday Night, 
Goldsmith’s Deserted Village, and many of the poems of 
George Crabbe. 

56. What is Dramatic poetry ?—The word drama is 
from the Greek dr ad, I act, and by dramatic poetry is 
signified the poetical representation of human actions and 
conversations on the stage. 

5 7. What is said to have been the original form of the drama ? 
—The drama received its earliest development among the 
Greeks, and consisted originally of choral songs delivered by 
one or two persons. 

58. Who was Thespis ? —Thespis was a Greek who flourished 
536 b.c., and is said to have introduced regular conversations 
into the choral songs at the festivals of Bacchus, thereby 
promoting the introduction of tragedy. 

59. What is Tragedy ? —The term tragedy is derived 
from the Greek tragodla, which is from tragos, a goat, and 
ode, a song. The ordinary explanation of the origin of 
this name is, that a goat was given as a prize to the singers 
of the dialogues which composed the representation. Tragedy 

F 


S2 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


is applied to any drama of a grave kind, the opposite of 
comedy. 

60. What is Comedy ?—Comedy is derived from the Greek 
homos , a revel, or home , a village, and signifies literally a 
reveller’s song, or the village song; in its character comedy 
is sportive, witty, and amusing. 

61. What is an Opera ? —It is a musical drama, in which 
the dialogues are sung, much in the manner of the ancient 
choral tragedies of the Greeks ; it is, however, a modern form 
of composition, taking its name from the Italian opera , a work. 

62. What is the libretto of an opera ? —It is the words of the 
piece, which are only a peg on which to hang the music ; the 
term libretto is Italian for 1 a little book.’ 

63. What is Metre ? —It is a measured succession of 
syllables, forming verse ; the term metre signifying measure. 

In the classical languages, metre depended upon the way in 
which long and short syllables -were made to succeed each 
other; but English metre depends on the succession of a 
certain number of accented and unaccented syllables. 

64. What is Blanh Verse ? —It is metre without rhymes. 

65. What is Rhyme? —It is a correspondence of sounds in . 
certain syllables, most commonly the terminating syllables 
in verses. Rhymes are often by mistake called poetry ; there 
may be rhymes where there is no poetical fancy, but only 

a jingle of words. 

66 . Is rhyme ancient ?—It has been known from the earliest 
times ; but the systematic use of final rhymes, was first 
introduced in the Latin hymns of the middle ages. 

67. What are Alexandrines ? —They are rhyming verses, 
consisting each of twelve syllables or six measures ; the term 
is supposed to be derived from an old French poem on 
Alexander the Great, belonging to the 12th or 13th century, 
in which this long measure was used. 

68. What is the Spenserian stanza ? —It is a group or series 
of metrical rhymes, each line consisting of ten syllables except 
the last, which has twelve, or is an Alexandrine ; it is called 
Spenserian, from having been first employed in English by 
Spenser in his poem, the Fairy Queen. 

69. What were the Delphin classics ?—They w r ere a series of 
editions, with notes, of the Greek and Latin classic authors, 
prepared by 39 of thd best scholars in France, by order of Louis 
XIV., for the education of his son, the Dauphin—in Latin Del- 
phinus. The books were described as ‘ In usum Delphini,' or 
for the use of the Dauphin ; hence the term ‘ Delphin classics.’ 


GREEK AND ROMAN PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. 83 


70. What is meant by ‘liberty of the press V —It is the 
liberty of printing books and newspapers without license or 
the control of a censor. This liberty in its fullest extent 
is now enjoyed in the United Kingdom—authors and pub¬ 
lishers, however, being accountable at law for attacks on 
private character, or for incitements to public disorder. 

71. What is ‘ a censorship V —It is an authority asserted by 
the state to scrutinise the products of the press, and to restrain 
them from being issued if they seem objectionable or danger¬ 
ous to the ruling power. A censorship, more or less strict, 
exists in nearly every continental country. 


Greek and Roman Philosophy and 
Literature. 

1. What was the period most distinguished for philosophy and 
literature in (Greece ? —It was a period extending from about 
500 b.c. to 146 b.c. ; but there were many distinguished men 
earlier and also later. 

2. Who were the ‘ Seven Wise Men of Greece V —These were 
seven persons noted for their sagacity as philosophers and 
statesmen at an early period of Greek history ; they were 
Periander of Corinth, Pittacus, Thales, Solon, Bias, Chilon, 
and Cleobulus. 

3. What is meant by Philosophy ?—Any systematic inquiries 
into the nature of things, physical or mental; the term is from 
the Greek pliileo , I love, and sophia , wisdom. 

4. What is Mental Philosophy ? —That branch of philosophy 
which treats of the mind ; it is sometimes called Psychology 
— psyche , in Greek, for soul or mind. 

5. What is meant by Metaphysics ? —The term metaphysics 
is sometimes used as another name for mental philosophy; 
but in its more proper sense it denotes certain abstruse specu¬ 
lations concerning the nature of knowledge. 

6. What is Logic?— It is the art of reasoning, and is so 
called from a Greek word signifying discourse. 

7. What is meant by Ethics ?—It is a word from the Greek, 
and is applied to the science which treats of the nature and 
grounds of moral obligation. This science is also called 
Moral Philosophy. 



84 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


8. Who was Homer ?— He was the earliest and greatest of 
the Greek poets, who lived probably about the 9th century 
B. c.; but the place of his birth is unknown. Homer’s two 
great works are the Iliad and Odyssey; both are of a heroic 
character, and abound in lofty sentiment. 

9. Who was Hesiod ?—Next to Homer, he was the earliest 
of the Greek poets, and flourished in the 8th century b. c. 
Hesiod’s poems are not like those of Homer, but portray 
peaceful pursuits and a simple style of life ; they also illus¬ 
trate the mythological notions of the time. 

10. Who was Sappho ?—She was a celebrated Greek poetess, 
born in the Isle of Lesbos about 600 b. c.; her poems were of 
the lyrical kind, highly finished in language, and abounding 
in tenderness of sentiment. It is this poetess to whom Lord 
Byron refers in his verses, the Isles of Greece — 

‘ Where burning Sappho loved and sung.’ 

11. Who was AEschylus ?—He was an eminent writer of 
tragedies, born 525 b.c., and is usually styled ‘the father of 
tragedy.’ Seven of his numerous tragedies are preserved, and 
are noted for grandeur of ideas and elegance of expression. 

12. Who was Pindar ? —He was a famed Greek poet, born 
about 520 b.c. ; his poems are of a lofty, heroic nature, chiefly 
in praise of the victors at the Olympic, Pythian, and other 
Greek festivals, and were favourites with Alexander the 
Great. 

13. Who was Sophocles ? —He was a celebrated Greek 
dramatist, born 495 b. c., whose tragedies, more particularly 
his Antigone and (E dipus, are highly admired for their depth 
and tenderness of feeling, and their harmony of versification. 

14. Who was Euripides ? —He was a celebrated Greek 
dramatist, born 480 b.c., and, after iEscliylus and Sophocles, 
Avith whom he was contemporary, ranks as the third great 
writer of Greek tragedy. 

15. Who was JEsop ? —He is said to have been a freed 
Greek slave, who lived, in the middle of the 6th century b. c. 
He became famous for teaching morality by means of fables, 
in which the lower animals are introduced as actors. Besides 
this little is known regarding him. The fables ascribed to 
iEsop are well known in English and some other modem 
languages. 

16. Who was Pythagoras 1 —He was a Greek philosopher, 
a native of Samos, where he was born about 5 70 B. c. Pytha¬ 
goras has left no works; and it is therefore questionable 


GREEK AND ROMAN PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. 85 

whether he is to be held responsible for every doctrine that 
goes under his name. His disciples probably modified or 
exaggerated these according to their own predilections. The 
two great doctrines associated with his name are, first, 1 that 
number is the origin of all things,’ and second, the belief in 
metempsychosis or the transmigration of souls. 

17. Who was JEscnlapius ?—He was a physician rendered 
famous by Homer, of whom there are numerous mytholo¬ 
gical fables, and who is renowned as the father of the healing 
art. iEsculapius is always represented as a man with 
a long beard, holding a knotty staff, around which twines a 
serpent, and at his feet is placed a cock, and sometimes a dog, 
emblematic of watchfulness. 

18. Who was Hippocrates ? —He was an eminent Greek 
physician, belonging to a family that claimed to be descended 
from iEsculapius, and was born about 460 b. c. Hippocrates 
systematised the medical art, and left various writings, still 
valued for their sound views concerning the art of preserving 
health. 

19. Who was Aristophanes 1 —He was a native of Athens, 
born 444 b. c.,. and renowned as a writer of comedies, which 
were generally of a satiric character ; his comedies are prized 
for their wealth of fancy and beauty of style. The choruses 
in particular often display the purest spirit of poetry. 

20. Who was Aristotle ?—He was a celebrated Greek philo¬ 
sopher, born 384 b. c., whose writings were of a most com¬ 
prehensive nature, including logic, or a method of formal 
reasoning. Alexander the Great was educated under Aristotle. 

21. Who was the ‘Stagyrite V —Aristotle has been called the 
Stagyrite from having been born at Stageira, a Greek colonial 
town ; his fame, however, rests on his teaching in the Lyceum 

- near Athens. 

22. How did the term Lyceum originate ? —The school in the 
neighbourhood of Athens at which Aristotle taught received 
the name Lyceum, from being situated near the temple con¬ 
secrated to Apollo Lukeios (Apollo the wolf-slayer). Insti¬ 
tutions at which the Aristotelian philosophy was afterwards 
taught, were from this origin called lyceums, and the term 
lyceum is now often applied to any educational institute. 

23. What was the { Peripatetic Philosophy V —It was the 
philosophy of Aristotle, which he usually taught while 
walking ( peripateo , ‘ I walk about’) in the shady groves of the 
Lyceum ; hence his followers were called Peripatetics. 

24. How long did the Aristotelian philosophy retain its 


8G 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


influence ? —It was embraced among other systems by the 
Romans, was taught under the auspices of the church in the 
middle ages, and kept its place in universities till displaced 
by modern and more correct teaching. 

25. TVliat did the ancient philosophers teach as regards the 
structure of the universe ? —They taught that the earth is 
stationary in the centre of the heavens, and that the sun 
revolves around it—a theory which was maintained in the 
schools and by the world generally until the discoveries of 
Copernicus. 

26. What was the ‘ Primum Mobile V —In the ancient astro¬ 
nomy, usually called the Ptolemaic system, the primum mobile 
was an outer or tenth sphere, which was supposed to revolve 
round the earth in twenty-four hours, and to carry all the 
other spheres of the heavenly bodies along with it. 

27. Who was Socrates ?— He was a Greek philosopher, born 
470 b. c., whose character and teaching were equally pure and 
noble. Alcibiades, Crito, Xenophon, Aristippus, Phsedon, 
Plato, and other noted men were among his pupils. 

28. What is the 1 Socratic method of reasoning V —It is, when 
arguing, to ask questions, by answering which an adversary 
unconsciously makes certain fatal admissions. Socrates 
resorted to this device, in order to force his pupils to think 
for themselves, and be on their guard against fallacies. 

29. What were the principal doctrines of Socrates ?—He 
taught that there is but one Divine Being, whose favour can 
only be propitiated by a blameless life; at the same time 
Socrates sacrificed and prayed at the heathen altars of his 
country. 

30. What was the fate of Socrates? —He was accused of 
denying the ancient divinities of the state, and of perverting 
the religion of his pupils ; on which charge he was condemned 
by the ruling faction to death, and died by drinking a bowl 
of poison, b. c. 399. Few of the ancients have merited such 
profound admiration as Socrates. 

31. Who was Theophrastus ? —He was a famous Greek philo¬ 
sopher and naturalist, born 371' b.c. He succeeded Aristotle 
as a teacher at Athens, and composed a number of works 
concerning plants, stones, and other natural objects ; but his 
fame rests chiefly on his work, entitled Ethical Characters , 
which shews an intimate knowledge of mankind. 

32. Who were the Sophists ?— They were a class of reasoners 
contemporary with Socrates and Pericles, who took their 
designation from sophos , wise ; but they brought reasoning 


GREEK AND ROMAN PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. 87 

into contempt by endeavouring to cast uncertainty over the 
most obvious truths. Hence, specious arguments are called 
sophistry. 

33. Who ivas Plato ? —He was an eminent Greek philoso¬ 
pher, bom about 429 b. c. His original name was Aristocles, 
and he was called Plato, from platus, broad, on account of the 
breadth of his chest and forehead. Instructed by Socrates, 
Plato adopted lofty views of nature and of the aspirations of 
the human soul, which he taught in the groves of Academeia. 

34. What was the Academeia ? —It was a spot where Plate 
taught, in the neighbourhood of Athens, which was said to 
have been presented to the citizens for gymnastic exercises 
by the mythic hero Academus, and hence its name. Hence 
the English Academy , now applied to any school of a superior 
kind. 

35. What is meant by ‘Platonic affection V —It is a phrase 
derived from a doctrine of Plato, to the effect that happiness 
consists in a 1 union of kindred souls in the love and zealous 
search for truth.’ 

36. Who were the Cynics ? —They were a sect of Greek 
philosophers noted for the morose and snarling character of 
their doctrines ; whence, perhaps, their name, which means 
doggish or dog-like ; though Cynics is more probably only an 
adapted abbreviation from the name of the gymnasium where 
Antisthenes taught, which was called Cynosarges; the sect was 
established by Antisthenes, a pupil of Socrates, who was born 
B.c. 426. 

37. TVho was Diogenes ?—He was a Greek philosopher at 
Athens, of the sect of the Cynics ; he inveighed against every 
species of luxury, and practised the most rigid temperance, 
along with a sacrifice of every personal comfort. It is said 
that at night he slept in a tub, but this statement rests on 
no good authority. Diogenes, who must be considered a 
philosophical fanatic, died 324 b.c. 

38. Who was Zeno? —He was a Greek philosopher, born 
about 366 B. c.; after finishing his studies at Athens under 
the Cynics, he founded a sect of his own, called the Stoics. 

39. Why were the followers of Zeno called Stoics ? —From the 
spacious painted porch— stoa being Greek for porch—in which 
their master taught. 

40. What ivas the nature of the Stoical philosophy ? —It was 
less severe than that of the Cynics, which it ultimately 
absorbed ; yet it inculcated a certain callousness of feeling, 
and even sanctioned the principle of self-destruction. 


88 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


41. Who was Democritus ?—He was a Greek philosopher, 
bom about 470 or 460 b.c., who taught the doctrine of the 
eternal existence of atoms. 

42. What was the Eleatic School ?—It was a philosophical 
sect which took its name from Elea, a town in Italy. The 
Eleatic philosophy was established by Xenophanes, and ex¬ 
pounded by Parmenides and Zeno. Its most flourishing period 
was between 540 and 460 b. c. . 

43. Who were the Epicureans ? —They were followers of 
Epicurus, a Greek philosopher, born 341 b.c., who taught 
that pleasure apart from vicious or sensual indulgences is the 
chief good. From a misapprehension of his doctrines, those 
who take inordinate delight in eating and drinking have been 
called Epicureans. 

44. Who was Herodotus ? —He was the earliest Greek his¬ 
torian, born 484 b. c., and for this reason he has been called 
the 4 Father of History.’ After visiting Egypt, Palestine, 
Assyria, and other countries, and when advanced in life, he 
wrote his famous work. The geographic accounts of Hero¬ 
dotus have been generally verified by recent travellers, and 
are prized for their accuracy. 

45. Who was Thucydides ?—He was the most philosophical 
of all ancient historians, a contemporary of Herodotus, and 
born in 471 b.c. ; his great work is a history of the Pelopon¬ 
nesian war, noted for accuracy of research, profundity of 
conception, and dignity of style. 

46. Who was Xenophon ? —He was a celebrated Greek 

historian and general, born about 450 b. c., and was a pupil 
of Socrates, of whom he has left Memorabilia. Xenophon 
commanded the Greek forces in their retreat from Persia, of 
which event he gives an account in his Anabasis, his best 
known work. On account of the style in which his works are 
written, they are much used as school-books for the study ot 
Greek. J 

47. Who was Theocritus ?—He was a Greek poet, who 
flourished about 280 b. c. ; his poetry is written in the Doric 
dialect, and is rich in simple pastoral subjects. 

48. Who was Euclid ? —He was an eminent mathematician, 
born at Alexandria about 300 a.d., and belonged to what 
is termed the Alexandrian school of learning. Euclid’s great 
work was his Elements of Geometry, which is still used as a 
text-book. 

49. Who was Archimedes ?— He was a celebrated Greek 
mathematician and writer on mechanics, born about 287 b. c. ; 


GREEK AND ROMAN PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. 89 


Iris reputation rests chiefly on his discoveries in mechanics 
and hydrostatics. 

50. Who was Plotinus ?— He was a Greek philosopher at 
Alexandria, horn 205 a. d., who is famed as the most original 
and speculative thinker among the Neo-Platonists. 

51. What was Neo-Platonism ? —The word neo is from the 
Greek neos, new, and by Neo-Platonism is meant certain 
new doctrines founded on those of Plato; these new doc¬ 
trines gradually assumed a religious form, which proved 
antagonistic to Christianity. 

52. Who was Porphyrius T —He was the most distinguished 
pupil of Plotinus, and was born 233 a.d. In his teaching, 
Neo-Platonism took a distinctively anti-Christian tendency. 

53. Who was Polybius ?—He was an eminent Greek historian, 
born about 204 b. c., whose work embraces the history of 
Rome from its capture by the Gauls down to the subjugation 
of Macedonia. The history of Polybius occupies a very high 
rank. 

54. Who was Aristarchus ? —He was a Greek grammarian 
and critic who lived at Alexandria about 150 b.c., and was 
noted for his labours in connection with the text of Homer. 
His principles of criticism were exceedingly strict; hence, 
a severe but just critic is sometimes called a 4 modern 
Aristarchus.’ 

55. Who was Dionysius of Halicarnassus ? —He was a learned 
Greek historian, critic, and rhetorician, born about 50 B.c. 
His most valuable work is his History of Pome. 

56. Who was Diodorus Siculus ? —He was one of the later 
Greek historians who flourished about the beginning of the 
Christian era; his work, called the Bibliotheca or Library, 
purports to be a history of the world from the Creation till 
the Gallic wars of Julius Caesar : but what survives of it is 
of little practical value. 

57. Mention two later Greek geographers. —Strabo, born about 
66 B.c., and Pausanias, who lived in the 2d century of our 
era; from their writings, in addition to those of Herodotus 
and Ptolemy of Alexandria, who flourished about 139 a.d., we 
derive our chief information respecting ancient countries. 

58. Who was Plutarch ? —He was an accomplished Greek 
writer, who lived some time in Rome, about 80 a.d., and 
there taught philosophy. Plutarch’s reputation rests on his 
well-known Lives of distinguished Greek and Roman person¬ 
ages ; no one in ancient or modern times has excelled him as 
a biographer. 


90 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


59. Who was Lucian ?— He was a Greek writer celebrated 
for his ingenuity and wit; his best known works are his Dia¬ 
logues of the Gods and Dialogues of the Dead, in which he 
satirises the mythology and philosophical sects of the Greeks. 
Lucian died about the end of the 2d century. 

60. Who was Longinus ? —He was an eminent Greek phil¬ 
osopher and rhetorician who followed the doctrines of Plato ; 
he was employed as a tutor by Zenobia, the Greek queen of 
Palmyra, and on a charge of treason was beheaded by the 
Roman emperor Aurelian, 273 ad. 

61. Were the Romans as distinguished for philosophy and 
literature as the Greeks ? —No ; the Romans adopted the Greek 
philosophy, on which they made no distinct advance, and 
their imaginative literature had not the range or brilliancy of 
their Greek predecessors ; they possessed no poet like Homer, 
Pindar, or Sappho ; and no dramatist like iEschylus, 
Sophocles, or Euripides. In History and Jurisprudence, they 
rank higher. Livy surpasses Herodotus in style and pictorial 
effect, and Tacitus may vie with Thucydides. 

62. What was the most brilliant period of Roman litera¬ 
ture ? —A space of little more than ninety years, from the dic¬ 
tatorship of Sulla, 81 B.c., to the death of Augustus, 14 A. D. 

63. The following is a summary of Romans (including one 
Greek, Epictetus) distinguished for literature, learning, and 
general accomplishments. 

Plautus, the greatest of all the Roman comic poets and 
dramatists, was born about 254 b.c. He was for some time 
a journeyman-baker. His works possess a strong, racy, 
popular humour. 

Terence, born about 195 b.c., a comic dramatist, contem¬ 
porary with Plautus, of inferior genius, but more refined ; 
his comedies are esteemed for their purity of language, and 
also their prudential maxims. 

Cicero, the greatest orator of Rome, and illustrious as a 
statesman and man of letters, bom 106 b.c. ; he has left 
numerous works on philosophy and rhetoric, one of the best 
known being Tusculance Disputationes (Tusculan Disputa¬ 
tions). 

Yarro, a distinguished writer and friend of Cicero. He 
was the most learned and the most voluminous of all the 
Roman authors. He says himself that he wrote 490 books ; 
of which only two have survived—one on agricultural matters, 
and another on the Latin tongue, the latter of which is very 
valuable. 

Roscius, a very celebrated comic actor at Rome, 68 b.c., 


GREEK AND ROMAN PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. 91 

who realised a large fortune by his profession, which he 
carefully studied. 

Lucretius, bom about 95 b.c., wrote a philosophic poem 
on Nature, which is regarded as the finest of didactic poems. 

Sallust (Sallustius), bom 86 b. c., noted for his history of 
Cataline s conspiracy, the wars of the Romans against 
Jugurtha, and some other historical writings, which are com¬ 
posed in a picturesque and vigorous style. Sallust was very 
wealthy, and lived in a splendid villa at Rome. He died 
34 B.c. 

Seneca, a native of Spain, but a Roman citizen, famed 
for his works on rhetoric and ethics; in Rome he acted as 
tutor to Nero; on a false charge of conspiracy he was con¬ 
demned, and bled himself to death by opening his veins, 65 
A. d. Seneca followed the Stoic philosophy, and his works are 
for the most part ethical treatises, full of practical thought, 
expressed in a clear, forcible, and lively manner. 

Livy (Livius), the most illustrious of the Roman historians, 
bom 59 b. c. His great work was a history of Rome, which is 
considered a master-piece of Latin composition; it consisted 
of 142 books, of which, to the regret of scholars, all are lost 
but 35. 

Julius Caesar, renowned as a general, statesman, and 
historian, was assassinated 44 b.c. Caesar’s great works 
are his Commentaries on the Gallic and Civil Wars, which 
are written from personal observation, and are noted for 
clearness and purity of language, and accuracy of narra¬ 
tion. The Commentaries are a favourite Latin text-book in 
schools. 

Ovid (Ovidius), famed for various poetical productions, 
was born, 43 b. c. and flourished in the reign of Augustus, by 
whom, for some impropriety, he was banished to Tomi, near 
the mouth of the Danube. His best known work is his 
Metamorphoses, which, in a fanciful way, gives an account 
of all the transformations recorded in legend, from the 
Creation down to the time of Julius Caesar, the change of 
whom into a star forms the last of the series. 

Propertius and Tibullus were two elegiac poets of Rome, 
contemporary with Ovid ; the writings of both are admired, 
but those of Tibullus are considered to excel in tenderness of 
sentiment. 

Catullus (Valerius Catullus), a native of Verona, in the 
north of Italy, where he was bom 87 b.c. He is probably the 
most original, and certainly the most exquisitely impassioned 
of all the Latin lyrists. His finest poem is entitled Atys. 

Horace (properly, Quintus Horatius Flaccus), a native 


92 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


of the south of Italy, was born 65 B.C., and became a great 
favourite as a poet at Rome, in the early part of the reign of 
Augustus. He excelled as a lyrist ; and his pieces, lively, 
and often satiric, are exquisitely finished. No Roman writer 
is so universally popular as Horace. 

Virgil (properly, Publius Virgilius Maro), distinguished 
for his epic, didactic, and pastoral poetry; he is sometimes 
styled the bard of Mantua, from having been born in a village 
near that city, 70 b.c. Virgil was a contemporary of Horace, 
and died 19 b.c. : his works are the JEneid, Georgies, and 
Eclogues. The JEneid, an epic poem on the model of Homer’s 
Odyssey, is not marked by any striking originality, but 
contains many mildly beautiful passages, and more descrip¬ 
tions of scenery than any other ancient poem. It is deservedly 
in repute as a text-book, from the finish of its language and 
versification. 

Vitruvius, who flourished in the time of Augustus, is 
noted for his writings on architecture, and to his taste is partly 
imputable the Roman adaptation of Greek art. 

Cornelius Nepos, a historian of the 1st century B. c., who 
wrote lives of distinguished warriors and statesmen ; his work 
is used as a text-book in schools. 

Phsedrus, originally a slave, who for a time was in the 
service of Augustus; his fame rests on his fables in verse, 
which are much used as a school-book. 

Lucan, a poet, born about 38 a. d., nephew of Seneca ; his 
only extant work is the poem entitled Pharsalia, which 
narrates the contests of Ccesar and Pompey. Having incurred 
the enmity of Nero, he was condemned to death, and, like 
his celebrated uncle, preferred to die by having his veins 
opened ; he thus perished in his 27th year. 

Columella, a learned 'writer on agriculture, whose chief work 
on that subject is still prized for its sagacity and practical 
character ; he flourished 50 a. d. 

Epictetus (a Greek) flourished in the first part of the 2d 
century B. c.; he wrote a compendium of the Stoic philosophy, 
and his sayings were collected by one of his pupils. He rose 
from the condition of a slave to places of honour, and was 
highly esteemed for the purity of his morals. 

Pliny (Plinius); there were two distinguished Romans 
of this name, uncle and nephew, usually known as Pliny 
the Elder, and Pliny the Younger. 

Pliny the Elder, a wealthy patrician, was born 23 a.d., 
and served for some time with distinction in the army. 
He was noted for his temperance, industry, and economic 
use of time, by which means he, in the course of a busy 


GREEK AND ROMAN PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. 93 


professional career, digested and wrote a variety of works, of 
which only one has survived, the Historia Naturalis (Natural 
History)—a most comprehensive work, for it embraces the 
material world, man, animals, plants, medicines, and other 
subjects. Pliny was killed by the eruption of Vesuvius, 79 a.d. 

Pliny the Younger, born 61 a.d., noted for his Epistles, of 
which there are ten books, in which he gives an account of 
the early Christians that is greatly to their credit. 

Quintilian, author of a Sijstematic Treatise on Rhetoric , in 12 
books, flourished about 90 a.d., and is reckoned as the greatest 
authority on style among the ancients. 

Tacitus, the greatest of the Roman historians, was bom 
probably about 00 a. d. He wrote a history of Rome during 
the earlier years of the empire, also a work on Germany, and 
a life of Agricola. The writings of Tacitus unite philosophical 
observation with a picturesque narration of facts. 

Celsus, a celebrated Latin physician and writer on medical 
subjects, who flourished, it is supposed, in the reign of Augus¬ 
tus, and has been styled the 1 Roman Hippocrates.’ His great 
work is De Medicind, a Treatise on Medicine and Surgery. 

Galen, a celebrated physician, born 130 a.d., practised 
medicine for some time at Rome, and served as a physician to 
the Roman army. Galen was an Asiatic Greek by birth. He 
died about 201 a.d., and left numerous treatises on medicine, 
pharmacy, and surgery, also on philosophical subjects. 

Macrobius, a writer belonging to the 4th or 5th century, 
author, among other things, of a work entitled Saturnalia , 
which is valued for its illustrations of ancient manners and 
customs. 

64. Who were the Mivni of the Romans ?—The mimi were 
buffoons, who appeared at convivial meetings to entertain the 
guests by their farcical humour. The word mimicry is derived 
from them. 

65. Who were the Fantomimi of the Romans ?—They were 
tragic actors who represented characters and emotions by 
gestures and posturing alone. The modern term pantomime 
is derived from the Roman Fantomimi. 

66. What is the origin of Harlequin ?—The character of 
Harlequin, with his parti-coloured dress, is derived from that 
of a Roman mime. Some think that the character is a kind 
of burlesque of Mercury with his caduceus or short sword, 
to render himself invisible. The modern clown in a har¬ 
lequinade represents Moinus, the buffoon of the Greek 
mythology. 

67. What did the Greeks consider the Seven Wonders of the 


94 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


World? —i. The Pyramids of Egypt; 2. The Walls and 
Hanging-gardens of Babylon ; 3. The Pharos at Alexandria; 
4. The Temple of Diana at Ephesus ; 5. The Statue of the 
Olympian Jupiter sculptured by Phidias, and composed of 
ivory and gold ; 6. The splendid sepulchre erected by Queen 
Artemisia to her husband Mausolus, 353 b. c.—hence the 
English term mausoleum ; and, 7. The Colossus of Rhodes. 


Medieval Learning and Arts. 

1. How long did Latin continue to be the language of 
literature after the dissolution of the Roman empire ? —It con¬ 
tinued to be employed by the fathers of the church, scholastics, 
and others, until about the middle of the 14th century, when 
it began to be superseded by modern languages. 

2. What is Patristic Latin ? —It is the Latin as written by 
fathers ( patres ) of the church, and is considered to be less 
pure and elegant than that of the classical Roman authors. 

3. Who were the Fathers of the Church ? —They were a long 
series of ecclesiastical teachers, who lived from the times of 
the apostles until about the 7th century, and generally left 
treatises defining the early views and doctrines ot the church. 

4. Mention the names of some of the fathers ?—The list, 
including Greek and Latin fathers, is very numerous ; a few 
of their names, indiscriminately, are as follows—Clement 
of Alexandria, Lactantius, Origen, Eusebius, Athanasius, 
Chrysostom, Tertullian, Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome. 

5. Who was Arius ?—He was a religious teacher in the 
early part of the 4th century, who, while professing Chris¬ 
tianity, maintained certain doctrines which were declared 
heretical by the famous Council of Nice, held 325 a. d. 
Arianism, as it is called from him, is opposed to the common 
doctrine of the Trinity, and holds that the Son is inferior to 
the Father. 

6. Who were the Scholastics ? —The name scholastics, or 
schoolmen, is ordinarily applied to certain famed teachers of 
philosophy and theology from the 9th to the 14th century 
—in snort, to the men who taught the higher branches of 
education to the clergy and others, either in the monastic 
schools or in the later universities. 



MEDIEVAL LEARNING AND ARTS. 


95 


7. Where did the scholastics ply their vocation ? — Generally 
in schools attached to monasteries, out of which there was 
little security for students in the middle ages. Most of the 
scholastics were monks. 

8. Mention the names of some eminent scholastics ? —Albertus 
Magnus (died 1280), Alexander of Hales, Thomas Aquinas, 
and Duns Scotus ; this last flourished in the 14th century, 
and was particularly famous. 

9. Who was Bede ? —The ‘Venerable Bede,’ as he is usually 
called from his learning and piety, was born about 673, and be¬ 
came a monk at Jarrow, Northumberland ; here he composed 
several learned works, particularly an ecclesiastical history of 
England down to 731, which constitutes an invaluable body 
of facts concerning the early condition of the country ; it was 
written in Latin, but has been translated into English. 

10. What were the Sagas? —The sagas were heroic poems 
and histories of the northern or Scandinavian people, about 
the 12th century ; there were several celebrated sagas. 

11. What were the Eddas ? —Edda is the name given to two 
collections of Scandinavian myths or fables, the older being 
in verse, and executed, probably in the 12th century, by 
Ssemund the Wise; the younger in prose, by Snorri Sturleson, 
in the 13 th century. 

12. What is meant by Runes ?—Runes is the name given to 
a kind of letters or alphabet used in early times by the Scan¬ 
dinavian and German peoples. They 
were much employed as symbols in 
divination and other magical prac¬ 
tices. Old monuments covered with 
Runic symbols still exist in many 
parts of the British Islands. 

13. Who was Thomas d Kempis ? 

—He was a native of Kempen, in 
Germany, where he was born in 
1379 ; he became a monk in an 
Augustinian convent near Zwoll, 
and wrote several works of a reli¬ 
gious nature ; one of these, styled 
the Imitation of Christ , justly ad¬ 
mired for its piety and simplicity, has been translated into 
many languages, and perhaps been more frequently printed 
than any other book, except the Bible. 

14. What was the period in which Arabic learning and litera¬ 
ture flourished ? —It extended from the 8th to the 14th century, 


trtHWnw 

nfhttTtFN 

imriHrn 

mmm 

flMtFMRF 

DrOTbtlH 

Runes. 


96 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


when the learning and arts of the Arabians were extinguished 
by the barbarous tribes who migrated from Central Asia, 

15. Who was Abulfeda? —He was a Syrian ruler, distin¬ 
guished as a writer of several works in Arabic, on geography, 
history, and other subjects ; he died in 1331. 

16. Who was Hafiz ? —He was an eminent Persian poet, 
who died about 1388. His collection of works is entitled the 
Divdn, and consists chiefly of odes, or, as they are called in 
Persian, ghazels. 

17. What was the origin of the Arabian Nights' Entertain¬ 
ments ?■—The work under that title is a collection of stories 
abounding in wild oriental fictions, which originated partly 
in India, Persia, and Arabia, and were perfected in Persia 
shortly after the reign of the Caliph Haroun al Raschid. 

18. When did Haroun al Raschid live ? —He lived in the 8th 
century, and was a contemporary of Charlemagne. 

19. When did the Arabian Nights' Entertainments become 
known in Europe ? —They w T ere first made known under a 
French translation by M. Galland, 1704 ; but the best trans¬ 
lation is the English one executed by Dr Edward Lane and 
published in 1839. 

20. What are Improvisatori ? —Improvisatori is the Italian 
name applied to persons who make extempore verses some¬ 
times in public places of resort for general amusement; the 
term signifies to invent without premeditation. 

21. Is the practice of improvising ancient ? —Yes ; it greatly 
prevailed during the middle ages, and served the purposes of 
literature where books were little known. The practice is 
still pursued in several Eastern countries. 

22. What was Alchcmij ?■ —A supposed hidden or secret 
art of transmuting the baser metals into gold, by means of 
an unknown substance called the Philosopher's Stone; also 
the art of making an elixir to prolong human life, called the 
Elixir Vitce. 

23. Where did alchemy originate ? —It originated in ancient 
times in Egypt, and after being practised among the Romans, 
it formed a pursuit of various learned enthusiasts in the 
middle ages. The term alchemy is Arabic, and is supposed 
to be from Cham, the Scripture name of Egypt. 

24. How did the science of Chemistry originate ? —It origin¬ 
ated in the vain pursuits of the alchemists, who, while 
engaged in their secret experiments with retorts and crucibles, 
made many real and valuable chemical discoveries, and founded 
the science of chemistry. 


MEDIEVAL LEARNING AND ARTS. 


97 


25. Who was Gebir ? —He was an Arabian alchemist,- 
who lived in the 8th century, and wrote the first book on 
chemistry. 

26. What were Occult Arts ? —They were hidden or secret 
arts ; the term occult, from the Latin, signifies concealed. 
The ancients practised various arts of this kind, such as 
divination or fortune-telling, necromancy, alchemy, and 
astrology. 

27. Explain the nature of Astrology. —It was the delusive art 
of divining the fortune of individuals from the position of the 
heavenly bodies at the time of their birth. The term astro¬ 
logy is from the Greek, and signifies a knowledge of the stars. 

28. What nations were believed to be proficients in astrology ? 
—The Egyptians, Chaldseans, Hindus, Chinese, and latterly 
the Arabians, who pursued it with great ardour from the 7th 
to the 13th century. 

29. What was the great discovery that shook confidence in 
astrology ? —The discovery by Copernicus of the true system 
of planetary motions (1540), after which astrology was pursued 
only by weak-minded persons and impostors. The latest 
astrologer of any note in England was William Lilly, in the 
reign of Charles I. 

30. Who was Nostradamus ? —He was a celebrated French 
astrologer of the 16th century; he received encouragement 
from the court of France, and died 1566. Nostradamus 
wrote an almanac, which served as a model for subsequent 
ones. 

31. Who was Paracelsus ?—He was a clever and audacious 
Swiss, born about 1493, who adopted this name, and became 
notorious for his real or pretended cures of diseases, in which 
he repudiated Galen and all the old medical authorities. 
Paracelsus partook of the nature and manner of a charlatan, 
but his novel views helped considerably to break up anti¬ 
quated notions, and to improve the practice of medicine. He 
was killed, 1541. 

32. Who were the Rosicrucians ? —They were members of a 
secret society, alleged to have been founded by Christian 
Rosenkreutz, a German, in the 14th century, who was said 
to have lived in India and Egypt, and there learned ancient 
mystic arts. The Rosicrucians had various fraternities at the 
beginning of the 17th century, but they ultimately died out. 

33. What peculiar fancies regarding the unseen world prevailed 
in the middle ages ?—There was a belief in ‘ Spirits of the 
Elements’—the spirits of fire being called Salamanders; those 

G 


98 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


of the water, TJndines; of the air, Sylphs; and of the earth, 
Gnomes; all which ridiculous and superstitious fancies have 
been made available by poets. 

34. What is Superstition ? —Absurd opinions concerning the 
order of Nature and attributes of God ; such as a belief in 
magic, witchcraft, fetishes, fairies, and ghosts. 

35. What is a fetish ? —A fetish is a thing supposed to be 
invested with marvellous powers, such as a tree, carved piece 
of wood, or any bundle of trash. 

36. Where has a belief in fetishes prevailed ?—Among heathen 
nations in ancient and modern times ; but it now more parti¬ 
cularly prevails in certain negro nations of Africa. 

37. What are fairies or elves ? —They were imagined to be 
diminutive, bright, lively, aereal beings, usually of a kindly 
disposition, though sometimes a little malignant. A belief in 
beings of this kind prevailed from the earliest times among 
the Teutonic and Celtic nations of Europe. 

38. What style of Architecture arose in the middle ages ? — 
The pointed or Gothic style, as developed in the building 
of abbeys, churches, and other ecclesiastical structures. 

39. What were the Masonic Guilds of the middle ages 1 —They 
were fraternities of practical architects and masons, who were 
employed to rear those grand ecclesiastical structures which 
still survive to attest the piety of the founders, and the skill 
of the artisans who constructed them. 

40. Were the masonic fraternities stationary ?—No ; they 
moved about from country to country, fostered by the church, 
and protected by the rulers who required their services. 
These medieval fraternities are typified in the lodges of 1 free¬ 
masons,’ in modern times. 

41. What was the state of the drama in the middle ages 1 -— 
There was no drama, properly so called; the ancient Greek 
and Roman drama had sank and disappeared; and the only 
theatrical performances consisted of ‘mysteries and miracle 
plays,’ and ‘ mummeries.’ 

42. What were Mysteries and Miracle Plays ? —They were a 
species of drama founded on the historical parts of the Old and 
New Testaments, and the lives of the saints, performed first 
in churches and afterwards on platforms in the streets. Their 
original design was to instruct the people, but they latterly 
degenerated into scenes of coarse and irreverent buffoonery. 

43. What were the Mummeries of the middle ages ?— Mum¬ 
meries were sports in masks ; a mummer is one whose face 
is masked or concealed—hence the familiar word mum } to 


MEDIEVAL LEARNING AND ARTS. 


99 


conceal or be secret. The term mummery is believed to be 
originally from Momus, the god of mockery of the Greek 
mythology. 

44. What were the Romances of the middle ages ?—They were 
stories concerning saints, knights, giants, sorcerers, beautiful 
but distressed damsels, &c.; they originated chiefly in the 
ages of chivalry—nth to the 13th century. 

45. Explain how these stories were called ‘ romances? —They 
were so called from being narrated in modem dialects of the 
Roman (Latin) language, particularly French and Spanish. 
The modem word ‘romance’ is derived from these old 
medieval romances. 

46. Mention some of the more noted medieval romances. —The 
story of Amadis of Gaul, and the story of Arthur and his 
Knights of the Round Table, are two of the most famous. 
Certain stories concerning a set of legendary heroes, called the 
* Seven’Champions of Christendom,’ also belonged to this class 
of old and popular romances. 

47. Who were the saints of the middle ages ? —They were 
persons distinguished for an ardent spirit of devotion, as 
well as for their labours as Christian missionaries ; for 
example, St Augustine, St Basil, St Benedict, St Anthony 
the Great, St Martin of Tours, St Francis of Assisi, and 
St Anthony of Padua. Several were renowned as thau- 
maturgists, and others as martyrs. 

48. What is a thaumaturgist ? —A thaumaturgist is one 
who is alleged to work wonders or miracles ; the term is from 
the Greek thauma , wonder, and ergon, a work. The lives of 
the thaumaturgical saints were favourite books in the middle 
ages. 

49. What were patron saints ? —In the middle ages, every 
country and city had its patron or tutelary saint, who was 
supposed to act as its protector. For example, England had 
St George ; Scotland, St Andrew ; Ireland, St Patrick ; Wale3, 
St David ; France, St Denis ; Paris, St Genevieve; Naples, 
St Januarius ; Edinburgh, St Giles ; and so on. 

50. What were Saints’ Days ?—They were days on which 
each particular saint was specially honoured. Thus, St 
George’s day was 23d April ; St Andrew’s day, 30th Novem¬ 
ber ; St Patrick’s day, 17th March; and St David’s day, 
1st March. 

51. What were the fabulous animals of the middle ages ?— 
They were monstrous dragons, which devoured flocks and 
herds ; unicorns, with a single pointed horn in the forehead ; 


100 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


and salamanders, which, lived in the fire. Legendary stories 
and ballads about dragons are common in every European 
country. 

52. What is the story of St George and the Dragon ? —It is a 
medieval romance, detailing the exploit of St George, a gallant 
Christian hero, who slew a mon¬ 
strous dragon with his sword, after 
the animal had broken the lance 
with which he first attacked it. 

53. How has this legend been com¬ 
memorated? —By the figure of St 
George, as patron saint of England, 
being used in the insignia of the 
Order of the Garter, and. being also 
placed on coins. 

54. What was the war-cry of the 

English in the middle ages ? —It 
was 4 St George for Merry England ’ st George and the Dragon. 

—a cry significant of the general 

character of the people, and their good-humoured sports 
and pastimes. 

55. What is the ( Order of the Garter V —It is an English 
order of knighthood, instituted by Edward III., on St George’s 
Day, 1344, and is the highest honour of the kind. 

56. IVhat is the story of its origin ? —It is related that 
the Countess of Salisbury, in dancing with Edward III., 
happened to lose her garter, whereupon the king picked 
it Up, and tied it round his own leg ; but that this act might 
not be misinterpreted, he restored the garter to the countess, 
exclaiming: ‘ Honi soit qui mal y pense ’ (Shame to him who 
thinks evil), which exclamation remains the motto of the 
order, and is seen in the royal arms. 

57. What was the Renaissance ? —The term ‘ Renaissance’ is 
applied to the revival of literature and arts in France in the 
early part of the 16th century—to which revival Francis I. 
and his accomplished sister, Margaret of Valois, materially 
contributed. 



CONTINENTAL LITERATURE. 


101 


Continental Literature. 

Italy. 

i. When does Italian literature commence ? —It begins as 
early as the 13th century, or previous to the general revival 
of learning; the following is a summary of the principal 
Italian writers, and other learned men of note— 

Dante, an eminent poet born at Florence, 1265 ; his great 
work is the Divina Commedia, an epic poem consisting of 
three parts, L’Inferno, II Purgatorio, and II Paradiso ; the 
poem is of the highest order, and ranks Dante with Homer 
and Milton.—Died 1321. 

Petrarch, an eminent lyrical poet; his best poems are 
sonnets to a lady, named Laura, for whom he nourished a 
sentimental affection. Petrarch lived for a time at Yaucluse, 
near Avignon, whence his fame spread over Europe.—Died 

1374 . 

Boccaccio, a celebrated novelist; he is best known for his 
Decameron , a series of little stories, from which later novelists 
and dramatists have largely borrowed.—Die^L 1375. 

Louis Cornaro, a Venetian nobleman, renowned for his 
example of temperance, which he describes in his work, Dis- 
corsi della Vita Sobria (Essay on Temperate Living).—Died at 
nearly 100 years of age, 1566. 

MacchiaveUi, a famed statesman and writer on political sub¬ 
jects. 1 His most celebrated treatise is Del Principe, or liow 
princes should govern their states. The principles incul¬ 
cated by the author in this work are so bad, that it has been a 
question ever since, whether he wrote in earnest or in covert 
satire.—Died 1527. 

Ariosto, celebrated for his poem, Orlando Furioso, which 
he wrote as a continuation of a previous romantic epic, 
Orlando Innamorato, by Boiardo. Ariosto’s poetry exhibits 
a great richness of invention, with a highly-finished style.— 
Died 1533. 

Guicciardini, famed as a historian and statesman ; his great 
work is his History of Italy ; he has been styled the Italian 
Polybius.—Died 1540. 

Torquato Tasso, celebrated for his epic poem, Gerusalemme 


1 See Historical Questions, p. 180 . 


102 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


Liberate/, (Jerusalem Delivered), and also for his lyrical pieces, 
which are remarkable for their pathos and musical sweetness 
of versification.—Died 1595. 

Guarini, famed for his elegant pastoral drama, II Pastor 
Fido (The Faithful Shepherd). Guarini was one of several 
Italian writers who revived the regular drama, after its long 
depression during the middle ages.—Died 1612. 

Tassoni, celebrated as the writer of a comic epic, La Secchia 
Rapita (Rape of the Bucket), satirising the petty wars of the 
Italian cities ; but he wrote a number of other works.—Died 

1635. 

Galileo—properly Galileo Galilei, celebrated for his dis¬ 
coveries in physical science, confirmatory of the Copernican 
system; his noted work on this subject, a Dialogue concern¬ 
ing the two Ruling Systems of the World, subjected him to 
imprisonment by the Inquisition, 1633. Galileo occupies a 
high position in the annals of science.—Died 1642. 

Torricelli, a philosopher, and follower of Galileo, who first 
ascertained the pressure of the air, and invented the barometer. 
—Died 1647. 

Metastasio, author of numerous dramas and musical 
cantatas ; his original name was Trapassi, of which Metastasio 
is a Greek translation.—Died 1782. 

Galvani, a celebrated physiologist, discoverer of that species 
of electrical action, named from him Galvanism. —Died 1798. 

Alfieri, a poet and writer of tragedies, who acquired some 
notoriety by marrying the Countess of Albany, widow of 
Prince Charles Edward Stuart.—Died 1803. 

Spain and Portugal. 

2. What is 1 The Cid V •—The Cid is the title of an extremely 
old Spanish poem or ballad, having for its illustrious hero 
Don Rodrigo Ruy Diaz, who by the Moors was called Es-Sid 
(lord or prince), which designation became corrupted into Cid. 
The ballad refers to the Cid’s encounters with the Moors of 
Spain in the 8th century, and was written about 1150. 

3. Who was Cervantes ? —Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 
was born about 1547, and died 1616. He suffered many mis¬ 
fortunes, and for the most part lived poor and friendless ; yet 
he was the greatest writer that Spain ever produced. His 
principal work was Don Quixote , a satiric and amusing 
romance, the first part of which was published 1605. 

4. Who was Lope de Vega ? —He was an extraordinarily 
prolific Spanish dramatist, a contemporary of Cervantes and 


CONTINENTAL LITERATURE. 


105 


of Shakspeare ; liis dramas are heroic or historical comedies. 
—Died 1635. He was succeeded by Calderon, whose dramas 
possess a high polish, and are full of brilliant fancy. 

5. Who was Quevedo ?—Quevedo was a Spanish poet and 
novelist, noted for his humorous and satirical writings ; his 
most famed production was his Visions, which consist of 
revelations of the future world, depicting the end of vanity 
and punishment of crime.—Died 1645.. 

6. Who was Camoens ? —Camoens was a Portuguese poet, 
and the only writer of his country who has obtained much 
celebrity abroad ; his fame rests on the epic poem, Os Lusiadas, 
or the Lusitanians—the ancient name of that part of the 
Peninsula now called Portugal having been Lusitania.—Died 
1579 - 


France. 

7. When did French literature commence ?—It commenced 
with the songs of the troubadours, the romances of chivalry, 
and the fabliaux—all current in the 12th and 13th centuries. 

8. What were fabliaux T —They were short metrical narra¬ 
tives on passing events or familiar subjects, generally satiric 
and humorous ; they were called fabliaux —that is, things told, 
stories, or narratives (from fabulari, to speak or tell), and their 
narrator was known as a fableor. 

9. The following is a summary of noted French writers 
and men distinguished for learning previous to the reign of 
Louis XIV.— 

Robert Sorbon, an eminent theologian in the reign of 
St Louis, who, about 1250, founded a college of education in 
Paris, which became celebrated under the name of the Sor- 
bonne, and existed until overthrown by the revolution. The 
buildings have been restored to the service of public instruc¬ 
tion, and lectures in theology and some other branches are 
still given there in connection with the Academy of Paris. 

Froissart, a lively and observant writer, who flourished in 
the 14th century, and was a favourite at various courts in 
Europe. His fame rests on his Chronicles, an amusing account 
of the events of his time, prized for its illustrations of 
courtly usages.—Died 1410. 

Philippe de Comines, a statesman, first in the service of 
Charles the Bold of Burgundy, and afterwards a confidential 
minister of Louis XI.; he wrote valuable and interesting 
Memoirs. —Died 1509. 

Rabelais, a satirical and humorous writer, whose fame 


104 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


rests on a romance, the heroes of which are Gargantua and 
Pantagruel; the work is full of exceedingly coarse satire and 
buffoonery.—Died 1533. 

John Calvin (French, Jean Cauvin), a theologian and 
reformer, who wrote in Latin and in French ; his chief works 
are his Institutes of the Christian Religion , and his Commen¬ 
taries on the Scriptures} —Died 1564. 

Ronsard, an eminent lyrical poet, whose verses were 
favourites with Mary Queen of Scots.—Died 1585. 

Brantome, a writer of memoirs descriptive of the manners 
of his time—Charles IX. to Louis XIII. He died 1614. 

Montaigne, distinguished as a writer of philosophical and 
moral Essays , which have been translated into several 
languages, and are of a sceptical character.—Died 1592. 

Francis de Sales was famed for his works of a devotional 
character, the principal of which is his Introduction to a 
Religious Life ; and also for his services in recovering large 
numbers to the Church of Rome after they had become 
members of the Reformed communions.—Died 1622. 

Sully, a statesman and writer of memoirs illustrative of the 
reign of Henry IV. 2 —Died 1641. 

10. The following were the distinguished writers in the 
long reign of Louis XIV., 1643—1715, ordinarily called the 
Augustan age of French literature— 

Descartes, an eminent philosophical thinker and writer, 
who opened the way for Locke, Newton, and Leibnitz. 
The leading peculiarity of his metaphysical system was the 
attempt to deduce all moral and religious truth from self- 
consciousness.—Died 1650. 

Blaise Rascal, a writer of works of a pious and religious 
nature ; the two best known are his Pensees (Thoughts), and 
Lettres Provinciates (Provincial Letters), which are considered 
among the finest specimens of French literature. 3 —Died 1662. 

Mademoiselle de Scudery, a writer of romances, the princi¬ 
pal of which are Le Grand Cyrus, and Clelie, each in 10 vols. 
They were once very popular, but are now almost forgotten. 
Died in 1701, aged 94. 

Madame de Sevigne, celebrated for her epistolary talents ; 
her letters, written mostly to her daughter, are esteemed 
models of simplicity, liveliness, and elegance of expression; 
they consist of several volumes. She held a high place in 
the literary circles of Paris.—Died 1696. 

Pierre Corneille, the creator of French tragedy ; his dramas 

1 See Historical Questions, page 145. 2 Ibid, page 148. 

3 Ibid, page 152. 


CONTINENTAL LITERATURE. 


105 


are highly esteemed for their declamatory grandeur by his 
countrymen, by whom he is called ‘ Le grand Corneille.’ 
—Died 1684. 

Jean Baptiste Moliere—the name Moliere being assumed 
in place of Poquelin. Moliere was the creator of French 
comedy, and takes the highest rank as a writer of humorous 
and satirical plays.—Died 1673. 

Jean Racine, a dramatist, contemporary with Corneille and 
Moliere ; the subjects of his plays are chiefly taken from clas¬ 
sical and scriptural sources.—Died 1697. 

Brueys, a theological writer and comic dramatist, but 
remembered only as the writer of a modernised version of an 
old play, in which in a droll litigation about sheep, occurs the 
phrase, ‘ revenons a nos moutons’ (let us return to our sheep, 
or proper subject in hand)—a phrase now often quoted in a 
jocular sense. The name of this play is L'Avocat Patelin. 

Lafontaine, a poet and fabulist, whose fables in verse will 
ever occupy a prominent place in French literature.—Died 
1695. 

Boileau, the most famous of the French satirical poets \ 
his principal works are his Satires , his Epitres, and his 
Art Poetique, a performance of high finish.—Died 1711. 

Bossuet, Bourdaloue, and Massillon, three pulpit orators, 
distinguished for their fervid and persuasive eloquence. 
Bossuet, who died 1704, and Massillon, who died 1742, have 
left sermons which are probably not surpassed in splendour 
and grace of rhetoric by any similar compositions. 

Rochefoucauld, a nobleman, author of Maxivies Morales, 
noted for their searching and severe exposition of the motives 
of human conduct.—Died 1680. 

Bruyere, or Labruyere, celebrated for works on character 
and manners.—Died 1696. 

Bayle, a philosophical writer, who in his Dictionnaire His- 
torique et Critique, has shewn all the qualities of his remark¬ 
able mind—wit, logic, learning, and scepticism.—Died 1706. 

Yauban, a marshal of France in the reign of Louis XIV., 
and famous for his system of fortifying towns, on which 
subject he left several works at his death in 1707. 

Malebranche, a writer on philosophical subjects ; his most 
famous work is his Recherche de la Verite. —Died 1715. 

Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambray, an eminent writer of 
works of a philosophical and religious nature, but best known 
as the author of the classic romance Telemaque, prepared for 
the special use of his pupil, a grandson of Louis XIV., the 
young Duke of Burgundy, who died 1714. Fenelon died 
1715. 


106 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


Fontenelle, author of numerous poetical, oratorical, dramatic, 
philosophical, and scientific writings. He possessed a fine 
temper and gentle disposition, and died when he had nearly- 
finished his iooth year, 1757. 


11. The following were the distinguished writers of the 
18th century— 

Kollin, a historian, whose writings, though refined in style, 
are diffuse and uncritical.—Died 1741. 

Lesage, poet, dramatist, and novelist, famed as the author 
of Gil Bias. —Died 1747. 

Baron de Montesquieu, a celebrated author and political 
philosopher; his great work, which occupied him 20 years, 
was L’Esprit des Lois (The Spirit of Laws), often quoted 011 
questions of civil liberty.—Died 1755. 

Voltaire.—properly, Francis Marie Arouet de Voltaire—the 
most voluminous and distinguished of all the French writers 
—poet, dramatist, historian, and 
philosopher. By his subtle and 
sarcastic genius Voltaire exercised 
a prodigious influence over his 
countrymen, and powerfully aided 
in bringing on the Revolution.— 

Died 1778. 

Jean Jacques Bousseau, drama- J 
tist, novelist, and writer on specu- j|| 
lative subjects, but extravagant in Ap|| 
his theories, and intractable; though 
classed with French writers, he was 
a native of Geneva.—Died 1778. 

The Count de Buffon, naturalist; 

Marmontel, novelist ; La Harpe, 
literary biographer and critic ; Baynal, historian ; Helvetius, 
writer on philosophical subjects ; D’Alembert and Condorcet, 
mathematicians; Lavoisier, chemist; Diderot, moralist and 
romance-writer; and St Pierre, author of Paul et Virginie; 
rank among the leading men of science and letters in France, 
in the latter part of the 18th century. 



Voltaire. 


12. In the present century, France has had the following 
authors of note— 

Baroness de Stael-Holstein, ordinarily called Madame de 
Stael, was daughter of Necker, the famous financier, and 
became celebrated for her novels and other productions ; her 
best-known work is Gorinne , ou I'ltalie (Corinne, or Italv.')— 
Died 1817. 

Laplace, a celebrated astronomer, author of the Mecanique 


CONTINENTAL LITERATURE. 107 

Celeste and Systeme du Monde , works of the highest value to 
science.—Died 1827. 

Laurent de Jussieu, horn at Lyon 1748, Professor of Botany 
in Paris, whose fame rests on his system of plants, known 
as the Jussieuan or Natural System, which is now generally 
adopted. The work in' which his views are set forth is 
entitled Genera Plantarum. —Died 1836. 

Decandolle, native of Geneva, follower of Jussieu, whose 
system of botany he improved, and author of several important 
works on the vegetable kingdom.—Died 1841. 

Yicomte de Chateaubriand, a writer on political and specu¬ 
lative subjects ; his works are of a pious and imaginative kind, 
but want solidity.—Died 1848. 

Beranger, a poet, celebrated for his lyrical and patriotic 
songs.—Died 1857. Jasmin was a contemporary poet in 
humble life, who wrote in the patois of the south of France. 

Michelet, born 1798, a brilliant historian, and author of 
several polemical novels. 

Lainennais, one of the most celebrated of the politico- 
religious writers in the present century.—Died 1854. 

Sismondi, a native of Geneva, but of Italian descent, who 
finally resided in France ; he wrote on political economy, in 
which he adopted the advanced views of Adam Smith ; his 
greatest works, however, are the Histories of Italy and France, 
which are voluminous, and greatly appreciated.—Died 1842. 

Victor Cousin, born 1792, an eminent writer on philo¬ 
sophical subjects and on education; his works are very 
numerous. 

Guizot, born 1787, a writer of 
historical and political treatises, and 
a statesman of note in the reign of 
Louis-Philippe. 

Thiers, born 1797, writer of the 
History of the French Kevolution 
in several volumes, and an eloquent 
speaker, but unsound and unpracti¬ 
cal in his notions of public policy. 

De Tocqueville, an eminent writer 
on politics and the philosophy of 
history.—Died 1859. 

Lamartine, a lyrical and des¬ 
criptive poet, born 1792 ; Victor 
Hugo, poet and novelist, born 1802; Balzac, novelist; 
Pain de Kock, novelist; Eugene Sue, novelist; and Madame 
Dudevant, who calls herself George Sand, born 1804, are the 
principal writers of fiction in recent times. 



103 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


Jean Henri Merle, who, for family reasons, assumed the 
name D’Aubigne, born at Geneva, 1794, but. classed as a 
French writer ; his well-known work is a Histoire de la Refor¬ 
mation, which has been translated into English. 

Auguste Comte, an ingenious writer on mental philosophy, 
and founder of the system of speculation known as ‘ Positiv- 
ism.’—Died 1857. 

13. What is Positivism ?—It is a philosophical system 
which rejects theology and metaphysics as fruitless specula¬ 
tions on things beyond the range of the human faculties, and 
confines itself to deducing the laws of positively ascertained 
phenomena. 


Germany, &c. 

14. Is German literature of ancient date ? —There were 
many popular poems and other inartistic productions of 
an early period, but the classical German literature begins as 
late as the 18th century, with the writings of Klopstock, 
Goethe, and Schiller. 

15. What was the Nibelungen-lied ? —It was a series of old 
ballads, united so as to make one plot, of a heroic kind. 
Nibelungen was the name of an ancient royal race, and lied 
signifies a song. The Nibelungen-lied was sung by the minne¬ 
singers—troubadours of Germany. 

16. Have there been many German writers ? —Yes ; although 
the literature is of comparatively recent origin, there has 
been a great abundance of writers, the sale of whose works 
forms a staple trade at Leipsic. 

17. The following are the most noted writers and philoso¬ 
phers of Germany.— 

Nicolas Copernicus'—originally Copernik—a native of 
Prussia, eminent for his mathematical and astronomical 
knowledge. The system of astronomy which goes by his 
name is, however, not exclusively his ; it is more the work of 
Kepler, Galileo, and Newton ; but in his De Revolutionibus 
Orbium, Copernicus argues for the sun being the centre of the 
planetary system ; from which circumstance he is usually 
called the originator of the present system of astronomy.— 
Died 1543. 

Tycho Brahe, a native of Denmark, much of whose life 
was spent in Germany ; he succeeded Copernicus as an astron¬ 
omical discoverer, and added greatly to the general knowledge 
of the planets and stars.—Died 1601. 

Kepler, a native of Wurtemburg, who for some time acted 


CONTINENTAL LITERATURE. 


109 


as assistant to Tycho Brahe; his fame rests on his discovery 
of certain laws of light and of planetary motion, known as 
1 Kepler’s Laws.’—Died 1630. 

Puffendorf, native of Saxony, a celebrated jurist or writer 
on legal institutes. He was successively a professor at Hei¬ 
delberg in Germany, and Lunden in Sweden, at which 
latter place he wrote his famed work, De Jure Natures et 
Gentium (The Laws of Nature and of Nations), which remains 
an authority on the subject.—Died 1694. 

Leibnitz, a native of Leipsic, celebrated for his erudition 
and philosophical researches; he wrote numerous works on 
natural theology, the human mind, and the moral government 
of the world.—Died 1716. 

Karl Linne, best known by his Latinised name, Linnseu3, 
a native of Sweden, who attained to great celebrity as a 
naturalist, especially for his discoveries in botany, and classifi¬ 
cation of plants known as the Linncean or Artificial System.— 
Died 1778. 

Mosheim, a native of Liibeck, author of an Ecclesiastical His¬ 
tory in Latin ; also of works which contributed to the formation 
of a pure style of prose German composition.—Died 1755. 

Lessing, a native of Saxony, dramatist and literary critic, 
who helped to emancipate German literature from corrupted 
French influences.—Died 1781. 

Lavater, a native of Zurich, Switzerland, whose great work 
is a treatise on Physiognomy, or a method of determining cha¬ 
racter by the countenance. He was 
shot in the streets of Zurich when 
the French, under Massena, cap¬ 
tured the city in 1799; but he 
lingered on till 1801. 

Immanuel Kant, born at Ko- 
nigsberg, but of Scotch descent, 
became a professor in the univer¬ 
sity of his native city, and wrote 
various treatises on Reason and 
Ethics. In these are embraced the 
‘Kantian Philosophy,’ or ‘transcen¬ 
dentalism,’ signifying that which 
transcends or goes beyond the limits 
of experience.—Died 1804. 

Goethe, poet, dramatist, and Goethe, 

novelist, the greatest of the Ger¬ 
man writers, born at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, 1749 ; his most 
famed production is Faust, a dramatic poem, of which there 
have been several translations.—Died 1832. 



110 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


Klopstock, eminent as a German poet; his writings are 
chiefly lyrical and dramatic, hut he is best known in England 
as author of the Messiah, a religious epic of a high order.—Died 
1803. 

Schiller, born in Wurtemberg, 1759, P oet > dramatist, and 
historian; his fame mainly rests on his tragedies of the 
Robbers , Wallenstein, Tell, and Marie Stuart, and on his 
splendid lyrics.—Died 1805. 

Kotzebue, a prolific German dramatist, one of whose plays, 
under the name of The Stranger, is known in England. He 
was assassinated at Mannheim 1819, on account of his hostility 
to the liberal movement. 

The two Humboldts, brothers, natives of Prussia—Karl 
Wilhelm, the elder, famed for his philological treatises ; died 
1835. Alexander, one of the greatest of naturalists and 
geographers; his latest and best-known work is Cosmos, a 
disquisition on the physical structure of the universe.—Died 
i 8 59 * 

August Wilhelm von Schlegel, native of Hanover, lyrical 
poet, and writer of various works connected with literary 
criticism. He had a good knowledge of English, and trans¬ 
lated Shakspeare into German.—Died 1845. 

Dr Franz Joseph Gall, a native of Suabia, who studied 
medicine at Vienna, and there became the founder of phren¬ 
ology ; died 1828. Spurzheim, educated at Treves, associated 
himself with Gall, and became the popular expounder of the 
phrenological system, which he considerably extended.—Died 
1832. 

Niebuhr, born at Copenhagen 1776, mastered 20 languages 
before he was aged thirty. He wrote several historical and 
philological works ; his best-known production is Rbmische 
Geschichte (History of Rome).—Died 1831 

Neander—originally David Mendel—was bom of Jewish 
parents at Gottingen, 1789, and adopted the name Neander 
on being baptised. He is allowed to be by far the greatest 
of ecclesiastical historians ; his best-known work is his Kir- 
chengeschichte (Church History), which shews extraordinary 
erudition.—Died 1850. 

Baron Liebig, born at Darmstadt, 1803, one of the greatest 
chemists of the present day, at one time Professor of Che¬ 
mistry at the University of Giessen, in Hesse, and now at 
Munich. He is the author of numerous and well-known 
works on chemical science, written chiefly to improve agricul¬ 
ture and sanitary knowledge. 

German literature has latterly been enriched by the writings 
of Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel—philosophy: Reinhard, Paulus, 


CONTINENTAL LITERATURE. 


Ill 



Schleiermaclier, and Strauss—biblical criticism: Wolf, Her¬ 
mann, Muller, the two brothers Grimm, Bopp, Benecke, 
Adelung, Lassen, Rosen, Lepsius, 

Herder, and Bunsen—philology 
and critical research: Winckelman, 

Heeren, Ranke, Yon Raumer, and 
Mommsen—archaeology and his¬ 
tory : and Korner, Uhland, Heine, 

Riickert, and Freiligrath—poetry. 

In prose-fiction, Germany has the 
productions of Richter, Tieck, Hoff¬ 
man, Armin, Zschokke, Therese 
Huber, Wagner, Moser, Stilling, 

Goethe, and Freytag ; few German 
novels, however, have been relished 
by English readers, to whom the 
general strain of German senti- Schiller, 

ment appears to be unintelligible. 

18. Wliat is the general character of German literature in the 
‘present day ?—It is much less occupied with philosophical 
systems and metaphysical speculations than formerly. Nume¬ 
rous works are now produced on different branches of physical 
science, also on historical and antiquarian subjects. 


The Netherlands, &c. 

19. What is the language of the Netherlands ? —It is the 
Dutch, a branch of the great Teutonic stock, to which belongs 
the modern German. 

20. Is Dutch literature of ancient date ? —No ; until com¬ 
paratively late times, the learned men of the Netherlands 
wrote in Latin, and generally Latinised their names; recently, 
there have been a number of writers in Dutch, but their 
works are little known beyond their own country. 

21. The following are the more noted of the learned men 
of the Netherlands.— 

Desiderius Erasmus—originally called Gheraerd—a native 
of Rotterdam, one of the most vigorous promoters of the 
Reformation, and writer of various philological and theological 
works.—Died 1536. 

Arminius—originally James Hermann—born 1560, studied 
theology, and became the founder of the sect of Arminians, 
whose doctrines concerning the decrees of God and divine 
grace are opposed to those of Calvin, and have extensively 
prevailed in the Church of England.—Died 1609. 

Hugo Grotius—originally De Groot—a native of Delft, 


112 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


author of various political, theological, and historical treatises, 
likewise of poems in Latin verse ; his great work was De Jurn 
Belli et Pads (The Laws of War and Peace), which has been 
translated into various languages, and remains an authority 
on the subject.—Died 1645. 

Spinoza, a native of Amsterdam, of Jewish descent, who 
spent much of his life as a meditative recluse at the Hague, 
where he wrote several works on ethics and philosophy. 
Spinoza’s views are usually called atheistic ; strictly, they 
were pantheistic, and have never received any practical 
acceptance.—Died 1677. 

Leuwenhoek, a native of Delft, where he spent his life in 
constructing microscopes, and in making discoveries in animal 
physiology by means of these instruments. When Peter the. 
Great passed through the Netherlands, he visited Leuwenhoek, 
who, by a microscope, shewed him the circulation of the blood 
in the tail of an eel.—Died 1723. 

Boerhaave, born near Leyden, 1668, became one of the 
most celebrated physicians and anatomists of the 18th 
century; to his lectures at the University of Leyden pupils 
flocked from all parts of the civilised world.—Died 1738. 

The list of modern Dutch writers in miscellaneous litera¬ 
ture and poetry, includes Hooft, Vondel, Cats, Yan der Palm, 
Van Lennep, Bilderdyke, and Da Costa. 


22. Who was Karamsin ?—He was the most eminent prose 
writer that Russia has produced ; born 1766 ; his great work 
is a History of the Russian Empire , written in the Russian 
language, and highly esteemed.—Died 1826. 

23. Who was Pushkin ?■ —He was the most distinguished 
poet of Russia, born 1796 ; he wrote several narrative poems 
and dramas in the Russian language, and has been sometimes 
called the Russian Byron.—Died 1837. 

24. What is the literature of the Magyars ?—It is the 
literature of Hungary, composed in the Magyar language, 
which bears a resemblance to the Turkish. Specimens of 
Magyar poetry have been translated into English by Sir John 
Bowring. 

25. Who was Oehlenschlager ?—He was a celebrated Scandi¬ 
navian poet and dramatist, bom near Copenhagen, 1779. His 
works, which are highly appreciated in Denmark and 
Germany, extend to 41 volumes.—Died 1850. 



ENGLISH LITERATE RE. 


113 


English Literature. 

1. What is the nature of the English language ?—It is a 
composition of Anglo-Saxon, French, and Latin, with words 
from various other languages. 

2. How many words are there in the English language ? — 
There are upwards of 42,000, of which 13,000 are Anglo- 
Saxon, and 29,000 French and Latin—the Latin being 
imported chiefly through the French. 

3. What words are employed in speaking ?—In ordinary 
conversation, Anglo-Saxon words are almost exclusively 
used; uneducated persons employ only a limited stock of 
words—seldom more than a few thousands. 

4. What words are employed in literature ?—Some writers 
employ more Anglo-Saxon words than others. Examples of 
simple and nervous Anglo-Saxon are found in the works of 
Bunyan, and in the authorised version of the Bible. 

5. What writers are noted for the profuse use of words from 
the Latin ? —Addison, Samuel Johnson, Gibbon, and some 
others in the 18th century. 

6 . Give one or two examples of words from the Anglo- 
Saxon and Latin having the same meaning. —‘Assemble’ is 
from the Latin ; ‘ meet together,’ from the Anglo-Saxon. 
4 Exclaim’ is from the Latin ; ‘ cry out,’ from the Anglo- 
Saxon. ‘Ultimate’ is from the Latin; ‘the last,’ from the 
Anglo-Saxon. In each of these examples the meaning is the 
same. 

7. In what works is the derivation of words made the subject 
of study ? —In treatises on Philology and Etymology; 1 deriva¬ 
tions are also found in etymological dictionaries. 

8. What is the effect of using words from the Latin ?—The 
effect is to give variety and a certain dignity to sentences; 
but when used profusely, the composition becomes pompous, 
and scarcely intelligible to ordinary readers. 

9. What is now the plan followed by good writers ?—It is to 
make no particular choice of words, but to use such, what¬ 
ever be their origin, as are best suited to express their 
ideas. 

10. When does English literature commence ? —It properly 

1 See Exercises on Etymology, by W. Graham, LL.D.— Chambers's 
Educational Course. 


H 


114 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


begins with the works of Cliaucer and Gower in the 14th 
century, when the language had settled into its present 
composite form, although still uncouth in its orthography, and 
in some of its expressions. Spenser says of Chaucer— 

‘ Dan Chaucer, well of English undefyled.* 


Early English Writers. 

11. Who was Chaucer ? —Geoffrey Chaucer was the earliest 
English poet; he was born in London, 1328, and was employed 
at the court of Edward III.; as an 
ambassador to Genoa, he visited 
Petrarch, with whom he had con¬ 
genial literary tastes; late in life 
he wrote his Canterbury Tales, 
which are an enduring monument 
of his genius—Died 1400. 

12. What is the nature of the 
Canterbury Tales ? —They are tales 
in verse, purporting to be related 
for mutual amusement by a party 
of equestrian pilgrims from the 
Tabard Inn, Southwark, to Canter¬ 
bury. These tales are now little 
read on account of a number of the 
words being obsolete, or in an old orthography ; but their 
merit places Chaucer in the first rank of English poets. 

13. Who was Gower ?—John Gower, a contemporary of 
Chaucer, was an English gentleman of property, who WTote 
several poems, some in Latin, and some in English ; those in 
English are admired for their lively expression of natural 
feeling.—Died 1408. 

14. Who was Sir John Mandeville ?— He is usually reckoned 
the first English prose writer ; about 1356 he wrote an account 
of his travels in foreign countries, a work consisting of a 
curious mixture of truth and fable, and valuable as a specimen 
of English prose composition in the 14th century. 

15. Who was John Wickliffe ? —He was a learned ecclesiastic 
(born 1324, died 1384), who executed a translation of the 
Scriptures from the Latin, which remains one of the valuable 
relics of the English language in the 14th century. 1 



1 See Historical Questions , p. 94. 


ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


115 


16. Who was Richard of Cirencester ?—He was a monkish, 
chronicler of the 14th century, famed for his history of the 
Anglo-Saxons, and a description of Britain in Latin, entitled 
De Situ Britannice; a manuscript of this last work was dis¬ 
covered at.Copenhagen in 1747, and has keen translated and 
published in England. Richard died about 1401. 

.17. What promoted literature in the 15 th century ?—The 
discovery of the art of printing, which was introduced into 
England by William Caxton about 1471. 

18. What was the first book printed in Britain ?—It was The 
Game of Chess, printed by Caxton, 1474 ; Caxton translated or 
wrote about sixty different books, all of which went through 
his own press before his death in 1491. 

19. Mention other early writers of note — 

Henry Howard, eldest son of the Duke of Norfolk, and 
usually called Earl of Surrey, was the first of the distinguished 
poets in England after Chaucer and Gower; his poems are 
chiefly lyrical, and are refined in style. Surrey was a gallant 
soldier, and conducted an important expedition into Scotland, 
1542. Falling under the displeasure of Henry VIII., he was 
beheaded, 1547. 

Sir Thomas Wyatt, lyrical poet, a contemporary of Surrey 
at the court of Henry VIII., remarkable for the tenderness of 
his songs and sonnets.—Died 1541. 

Sir Thomas More, the pious and learned chancellor of Henry 
VIII., by whom he was barbarously condemned and beheaded, 
I 535, 1 wrote several works in Latin and English ; his best 
known production is a curious philosophical work in Latin, 
under the title of Utopia, descriptive of an imaginary country, 
where everything is perfect. From this work comes the term 
* Utopian,’ signifying that which is chimerical or impracticable. 

John Leland, the first English antiquarian writer, died 
1552 ; and Roger Ascham, a writer of educational and other 
treatises, who assisted Queen Elizabeth in her classical studies ; 
died 1568. These were two learned men of note in England 
at the middle of the 16th century. 


Early Scottish Writers. 

20. What language was employed by the early Scottish 
writers ?—Some wrote in Latin ; others wrote in the Scottish 
vernacular of the j>eriod, which bore a resemblance to the 


1 See Historical Questions , p. 97. 


116 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


English of Cliaucer, and which, with some modifications, now 
constitutes what is called the Scottish dialect. 

21. Mention the more remarkable Scottish writers previous to 
the reign of James VI .— 

Sir Michael Scott of Balwearie, distinguished for his learning 
and knowledge of the occult sciences ; among the ignorant, he 
was reputed to he a magician, and there are numerous mythic 
legends concerning his marvellous performances. He wrote 
several scientific treatises in Latin.—Died 1291. 

John of Eordoun wrote in Latin a work, styled the Scoti- 
chronicon, purporting to he a history of Scotland from the 
beg innin g of the world ; it brought the history down to the 
death of David I. in 1153. Fordoun died about 1385. His 
work was afterwards extended to 1437, by Walter Bower, 
abbot of Inchcolm. 

John Barbour, archdeacon of Aberdeen in 1357, is reck¬ 
oned the earliest Scottish poet. Some of his poems are 
lost; that which remains is The Bruce , a versified history 
of the transactions by which the family of Robert Bruce 
obtained the Scottish crown.—Died 1395. 

Andrew Wyntoun, prior of the monastery of St Serf, 
Lochleven, about 1420, completed his Orygynale Cronykil 
of Scotland , a historical narrative in verse. 

James I. of Scotland, an accomplished prince, educated in 
England, wrote some elegant poetry ; his best known work 
is The King's Quhair (Quire or Book), which contains poetry 
equal to that of any of his English contemporaries. This 
royal poet was barbarously assassinated, 1437. 

Blind Harry is the name given to a wandering poet, blind 
from his infancy, who recited The Adventures of Sir William 
Wallace in verse, which, in a modernised form, remains a 

n tular favourite. Blind Harry flourished about 1460. 

Villiam Dunbar occupies a high rank among Scottish 
poets ; his poems, allegorical, moral, and comic, were com¬ 
posed about 1491 ; they are still highly relished, and would 
be more so but for their antiquated orthography.—Died about 
1520. 

Gavin Douglas w T as a younger son of Archibald, fifth Earl 
of Angus, and became bishop of Dunkeld; about 1500 he 
wrote several poems, the longest of which is The Palace of 
Honour; he also produced a Scottish metrical version of 
Virgil’s JEneid. —Died 1521. Scott says of him in Marmion — 

‘ He gave rude Scotland Virgil’s page.’ 

Six David Lyndsay, born about 1490, was at first a 


ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


117 


companion of James V. when a hoy, and afterwards filled the 
office of Lord Lyon King-at-arms; Lyndsay wrote some 
remarkable poems, chiefly satiric and humorous, which 
contributed to bring about the Reformation in Scotland.— 
Died about 1555. 

James Y. of Scotland is reputed to have written some 
humorous but somewhat coarse songs and ballads.—Died 

J 542. 

George Buchanan, born 1506, was eminent for his scholar¬ 
ship, and his exertions in favour of the Reformation; excepting 
two pieces, he wrote in Latin, into which language he trans¬ 
lated the Psalms of David. Buchanan became principal of St 
Leonard’s College, St Andrews, 1566, and afterwards acted as 
tutor to Janies VI.; his greatest work is a History of Scotland , 
in Latin, which has been translated into English.—Died 1582. 

John Knox, the Scottish Reformer, who died in 1572, and 
was characterised by the Earl of Morton as 1 one who never 
feared the face of man,’ wrote seve¬ 
ral theological works ; but his chief 
production was a History of the 
Reformation of Religion within the 
Realm of Scotland. 

Alexander Montgomery, a poet 
who wrote about 1568 ; his princi¬ 
pal work is The Cherry and the Slae 
(sloe), a rural allegory abounding in 
beautiful imagery. 

James VI. of Scotland, who be¬ 
came James I. of England, was a 
voluminous author ; his works most 
frequently referred to are Basilicon 
Boron (Royal Gift), or Instructions 
concerning Government to his son Henry ; Bcemonologie, a 
dialogue on witchcraft; and A Counterblast to Tobacco , written 
for the purpose of bringing tobacco-smoking into disrepute.— 
Died 1025. 

John Napier of Merchiston, born 1550, attained to lasting 
fame by his discovery of Logarithms—a short method of 
calculation, valuable in many mathematical, operations, 
described by him in a treatise on the subject.—Died 1617. 

John Spottiswood (1565—1639), successively Archbishop of 
Glasgow and St Andrews in the reign of James VI., was author 
of a History of the Church of Scotland, which is considered to 
be, on the whole, a faithful and impartial narrative. 

William Drummond (1585—1649) was a poet in Scotland, 
contemporary with Ben Jonson, who visited him at his seat of 



118 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


Hawthomden, in the vicinity of Roslin. Drummond’s poems 
consist of madrigals, epigrams, sonnets, and other pieces, dis¬ 
tinguished by a play of fancy and harmony of versification. 


The Era of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I.— 
1553 to 1649. 

22 . What change took place in English Literature in the 
reign of Elizabeth ? —It became more truly national, and 
acquired a vigour and elegance far beyond what it had hitherto 
possessed ; poetry and the drama, in particular, rose to a high 
degree of excellence. 

23. To what was the change imputed ? —To the outburst of 
free opinion consequent on the Reformation, also to the favour 
shewn to literature and men of genius by Queen Elizabeth, 
which favour was continued by James I. and Charles I. with 
the view of counteracting Puritanism. 

24. Mention the principal poets and dramatists in this era — 

Thomas Sackville, Earl of Dorset (1536—1608), writer of a 

poem entitled The Mirrour for Magistrates, remarkable for its 
vigour of allegorical description. 

John Lyly, born about 1554, flourished as a dramatist in 
the reign of Elizabeth, but is only remembered as the writer 
of two works, entitled Euphues, or the Anatomy of Wit , and 
Euphues and his England. They are written in an affected, 
bombastic style, and gave rise to the term Euphuism., a 
method of speaking in bombastic and allegorical language, 
which was in vogue at the court of Elizabeth. 

Sir Philip Sidney (1554—1586), a most accomplished writer 
of sonnets, and called the English Petrarch. He was mortally 
wounded in a battle in the Netherlands, 1586, and among 
numerous elegies on his death was a famed one by Spenser, 
under the title of Astrophel. 

Christopher Marlowe (1565—1593), author of a poem, The 
Passionate Shepherd to his Love, beginning— 

* Come, live with me and be my love/ 

by which he is best remembered ; but he was also the author 
of a number of dramas of merit. 

Edmund Spenser (1553—1599), the most luxuriant and 
melodious of all our descriptive poets ; his great work is The 
Faery Queen, which presents a wondrous scene of enchantment 
and beauty. Spenser had a large grant of lands in Ireland 
from Queen Elizabeth, but, driven from that country, he died 


ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


119 


in poverty at Westminster. From him comes the term 
( Spenserian stanza’—a verse of eight lines, each of ten 
syllables, with a concluding line in twelve syllables, called an 
Alexandrine. 

Southwell, Daniel, Drayton, Fairfax, Sir Henry Wotton, 
Donne, and Joseph Hall, are all celebrated for their poetry in 
different departments, in the reign of Elizabeth. 

Ben Jonson (1574—1637), great as a poet and dramatist. 
Some of his lyrics—for example, that beginning— 

‘ Drink to me only with thine eyes,’ 



are exquisitely beautiful. Among his dramas are, Every Man 
in his Humour , The Silent Woman, The Fox, The Alchemist, 
and Cynthia's Revels. On his tomb in Westminster Abbey is 
inscribed, 1 0 Rare Ben Jonson.’ 

Francis Beaumont (1585—1616) and John Fletcher (1576— 
1625), were two young men of genius who united their powers 
in a remarkable manner to compose plays, of which they wrote 
fifty-two; these dramas, tragical and comic, still keep their 
place in English literature. 

William Shakspeare, bom at Stratford-on-Avon, 1564, 
is the greatest of English poets and dramatists—his works 
shewing the most extraordinary 
versatility of fancy, felicity of ex¬ 
pression, and knowledge of human 
character. He died 1616, and it was 
only after his decease that the gran¬ 
deur of his genius was appreciated. 

The first edition of his works was 
published in 1623. 

Philip Massinger (1584—1640), a 
distinguished tragic poet and dra¬ 
matist in the reign of James I.; his 
play, entitled A New Way to Pay 
Old Debts, still keeps its place in 
the acted drama. 

Sir John Suckling, author of shakspeare. 

several beautiful small poems ; 

Robert Herrick, a writer of exquisite lyrics; and Richard 
Lovelace, a writer of odes and sonnets—rank among the 
high-class poets at the early part of the 17th century. 


25. Mention the more distinguished prose writers of this era — 
Sir Philip Sidney, already noted as a poet, was an 
accomplished prose writer; his best known work in this 


120 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


department was Arcadia , a heroic romance, which was read 
and admired at the court of Elizabeth and her successor. 

Richard Hooker (1553—1600), a learned theologian, author 
of the Laics of Ecclesiastical Polity, a work which is considered 
to he a powerful vindication of the Church of England and of 
ecclesiastical establishments generally. 

Erancis Lord Bacon (1561—1626), chancellor of England in 
the reign of James I., a luminary of learning, and author of 
several philosophical works ; his great work is the Instauration 
of the Sciences , in which is comprehended the Novum Organum , 
defining the proper method of prosecuting philosophical 
researches. This great statesman was convicted of corrupt 
practices, and besides being fined £40,000, was for a time 
confined in the Tower—an often-quoted instance of high 
intellect associated with imperfect moral principle. Bacon’s 
Essays are well known. 

William Camden (1551—1623), author of Britannia , a 
celebrated work in Latin, giving an account of Britain from 
remote antiquity, and of which a translation appeared in 
1610; it is a valuable repository of antiquarian and topo¬ 
graphical knowledge. 

Robert Burton (1576—1640), a country clergyman, author 
of a learned and curious work, The Anatomy of Melancholy, 
which has been frequently reprinted. 

Thomas Hobbes (1588—1679), ordinarily called Hobbes of 
Malmesbury, a learned philosophical writer ; his chief works 
are the Leviathan, and a Treatise on Human Nature, both 
containing profound views, but abounding in doctrines which 
have led to much controversy. 

John Selden (1584—1654), a learned writer and distin¬ 
guished political character; his largest work is a Treatise on 
Titles of Honour, but it is less known than Table-Talk, a 
collection of his best sayings published after his death. 

Jeremy Taylor (1613—1667), an eminent divine, and 
author of The Liberty of Prophesying, Holy Living and Holy 
Hying, and other theological and devotional works, which 
are highly prized for their learning, piety, and beauty of 
style. 

Sir Thomas Browne (1605—1682), an able antiquary and 
physician, author of Religio Medici (The Religion of a Physician) 
and an Inquiry into Vulgar Errors, a work which displays 
great eloquence, learning, and shrewdness. 

Thomas Decker, a writer of plays, and author of The Gulls 
Horn Book, a satirical work on the fashionable follies of the 
day ; Sir Thomas Overbury, a witty and ingenious describer 
of character; Owen Feltham, author of Resolves—Bivine, 


ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


121 


Moral, and Critical; and Peter Heylin, a writer on geography 
—all flourished in the reign of James I. 

Charles I. was an accomplished writer, besides being a 
patron of art. A work has been usually ascribed to him, 
entitled the Eikon Basilike (Royal Image or Picture), which 
contains an affecting description of his position, character, and 
mind, during his confinement in the Isle of Wight. The work, 
which did not appear till after his decease, is now believed not 
to be Charles’s composition, but it probably was revised and 
added to by him. 

John Taylor, an enthusiastic royalist in the reign of Charles 
I., who had originally been a waterman on the Thames, kept 
a public-house in London, and wrote doggerel verses, which 
are now considered curious, as descriptive of events of his 
time. Taylor described himself ‘ His Majesty’s Water Poet,' 
by which designation he is still spoken of. He made an 
adventurous journey to the Highlands of Scotland, regard¬ 
ing which he narrates some surprising incidents.—Died 1654. 

26. When did English newspapers begin ?—The earliest 
English newspapers or news-letters belong to the reign of 
James I., and were in the form of small quarto pamphlets. 
The first appeared in 1619 ; but newspapers embracing general 
intelligence did not appear until the reign of Charles I. 


The Era of the Commonwealth to the Revolution— 
1649 to 1689. 



27. What was the condition of literature during this era ? 

_In England, there was a series of distinguished writers in 

poetry and prose ; but in Scotland 
literature suffered a remarkable 
eclipse, and did not prosper till 
long afterwards. 

28. Mention the names of some of 
the English poets in this era. —Abra¬ 
ham Cowley, Edmund Waller, Sir 
John Denham, Charles Cotton, the 
Earl of Roscommon, John Philips, 
and Sir Charles Sedley. But the 
works of these and some others are 
now little read, and the really great 

E oets of the period possessing a 
isting fame are as follows— 

John Milton (1608—1674), author John Hilton, 

of Paradise Lost, a poem in blank verse—the greatest epic in 


122 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


the English language ; he also wrote a number of minor 
poems of great beauty, including L’Allegro, II Penseroso, and 
Comus. Milton also distinguished himself as a writer of 
treatises in favour of the Commonwealth and the principles 
of civil liberty. 

Samuel Butler (1612—1680), author of Hudibras , a satirical 
poem, written after the Restoration, and designed to burlesque 
the republican and over-zealously religious party which had 
recently held sway. 

John Dryden (1631—1700), a poet and dramatist by pro¬ 
fession, who flourished in London for many years after 1660. 
Dryden (called by his admirers ‘Glorious John’) is chiefly 
renowned for his poems, among which are included, Absalom 
and Achitophel, a satire, the Year of Wonders, Mac Flecnoe, 
and Fables; also, Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music, an 
Ode for St Cecilia's Day , which is now better known than all 
his other poems. He also translated Virgil’s AEneid into 
English verse. 

Thomas Otway (1651—1685), a young contemporary of 
Dryden, noted for his tragedy of Venice Preserved. 

29. Mention the most noted prose writers of this era — 

Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon (1608—1674), who was 
Lord Chancellor for several years after the Restoration, wrote 
a History of the Rebellion , or great civil war in England, a 
voluminous work, which is prized for its liveliness of style 
and accuracy of facts. 

Izaak Walton (1593—1683), ordinarily styled ‘Old Izak 
Walton,’ is renowned as the author of the Complete Angler, a 
work full of pleasing observations on rural subjects, which 
appeared in 1653 ; it has been often reprinted. 

John Evelyn (1620—1706), a gentleman of easy fortune, 
who distinguished himself by writing several scientific works 
in a popular style; he is best remembered as the author of 
Sylva, or a Discourse on Forest Trees, and of a Diary, which 
has proved a most valuable addition to our store of historical 
materials. 

John Locke (1632—1704) the greatest philosophical writer 
of the period; his principal production is the Essay on the 
Human Understanding, still a standard work. 

Samuel Pepys (1632—1703), a contemporary of Evelyn; 
like him, he wrote a diary, styled his Memoirs, which abounds 
in amusing particulars concerning the court of Charles II. 
and the manners of his day. 

Dr Ralph Cudworth (1017—1688), an eminent divine and 
philosophical writer; Ids principal production is the True 


ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


123 


Intellectual System of the Universe, a work of great learning, 
acuteness, ancl loftiness of thought, the object of which was to 
overthrow certain atheistical theories. 

Barrow, Tillotson, Sherlock, Stillingfleet, South, Wilkins, 
Pearson, and Sprat, were all divines in the Church of 
England after the middle of the 17th century, celebrated for 
their theological writings—sermons in particular—which are 
still highly esteemed. 

Richard Baxter, John Owen, John Elavel, and Matthew 
Henry were all celebrated Nonconformist preachers after the 
middle of the 17th century, and their works still hold a high 
place in theological literature. 

John Bunyan (1628—1688), the son of a tinker, was perse¬ 
cuted after the Restoration for holding unlawful Nonconfor¬ 
mist assemblies ; while in prison on a charge of this kind, he 
wrote the Pilgrim’s Progress from this World to that which 
is to come —an allegory composed in simple but singularly 
effective English, which remains, perhaps, the most popular 
work in the language. 

Sir William Temple (1628—1699), was a noted diplomatist, 
statesman, and miscellaneous writer, who possesses a high 
reputation as a polisher of the English language. From his 
younger brother, Sir John Temple, the late Lord Palmerston 
(Henry-John Temple) was descended. 

Sir Matthew Hale (1609—1676), celebrated as a learned 
and upright judge in the time of the Commonwealth and 
Charles II., was the author of 
various works chiefly on natural 
philosophy. His principal theolo¬ 
gical work, partaking of Calvinistic 
views, is entitled Contemplations, 

Moral and Divine. 

The Honourable Robert Boyle 
(1626—1692), son of the Earl of 
Cork, was eminent as a writer on 
natural philosophy and theological 
subjects. He instituted and 
endowed the ‘Boyle Lectures/ to 
combat atheistical doctrines, and 
these are still delivered annually. 

Sir Isaac Newton (1642—1727) 
holds by universal consent the 
highest rank among the natural philosophers of ancient 
and modern times. His great work is in Latin, and ordi¬ 
narily known as the Principia (Mathematical Principles of 
Natural Philosophy). Newton, who was noted for his piety 



124 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


and amiability of character, wrote also some treatises on 
theological subjects. 

John Ray (1628—1705), an eminent naturalist at the middle 
of the 17th century ; he was the author of some treatises on 
plants and geography, but is best remembered as the writer of 
a work first published in 1691, entitled The Wisdom of God in 
the Works of Creation. 

Gilbert Burnet (1643—1715), a native of Edinburgh, at first 
a Presbyterian minister in Scotland, and at last, by favour 
of William III., Bishop of Salisbury; his great work is his 
History of My Own Times , giving an outline of the events 
of the civil war, and a full narrative of what took place from 
the Restoration till 1713. Burnet’s work remains a standard 
book in English literature. 


The Era of the Reigns of William III., Anne, and 
George I.—1689 to 1727. 

30. Was literature in this era independent of support from 
private patrons ? —No ; following an ancient practice, it was 
still customary for writers to secure some kind of encourage¬ 
ment from wealthy and titled persons before adventuring on 
publication; in return for which they generally appended a 
dedication to their patron. 

31. What were Grub-street writers ?—They were an abject 
class of authors who lived in and about Grub Street, a low 
street in London, and were notorious for their slanderous 
inventions and mercenary dedications. 

32. Why did not writers generally depend exclusively on 
‘public support ? —Because, as yet, the number of readers and 
purchasers of books was limited; it is only in recent times 
that authors have been able to depend exclusively on public 
patronage, and to care little for any special private favour. 

33. Who were the British Essayists ? —They were a series of 
writers of essays on men and manners, who commenced this 
entertaining species of literature in the reign of Queen Anne. 
The essays appeared in certain small periodicals, the earlier 
of which were the Review, Tatler, and Spectator. 

34. Mention the principal writers in the era from 1689 to 

1727 * . * 

Daniel Defoe (1661—1731), miscellaneous writer and 

novelist; best known as the author of Robinson Crusoe, a 
fiction universally appreciated : he also wrote a satirical poem, 


ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


125 


styled the True-lorn Englishman, and a History of the 
Union of England and Scotland. Defoe is likewise cele¬ 
brated as the earliest of the essay writers ; his productions 
in this department appeared in a periodical called the 
Review, 1704. 

Sir Richard Steele (1675— 1 7 2 9 ) was an Irishman by birth, 
who became popularly known in London as 1 Jovial Dick 
Steele he organised the Tatler, 1709, and afterwards the 
Spectator , 1711, in both of which works he was ably assisted 
by Addison. Steele possessed great fertility of invention, as 
respects incident and character, and his papers abound in 
inimitable touches. 

Joseph Addison (1672—1719). poet, dramatist, and miscel¬ 
laneous prose writer, assisted Steele in the Tatler , also in the 
Spectator, to which lie contributed many papers of great 
literary finish, including those on Sir Roger de Coverley. 
Johnson says of him, ‘whoever wishes to attain an English 
style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not osten¬ 
tatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes of 
Addison.’ 

Matthew Prior (1664—1721), a poet whose works include 
odes, songs, epistles, epigrams, and tales—all beautiful in 
versification, and full of humour and fine feeling. 

Jonathan Swift (1667—1745), a poet and miscellaneous and 
political writer, whose works abound in satire and invective ; 
his best known productions are the 
Tale of a Tub and Gulliver's Travels; 
the purity of his prose style renders 
it a model of English composition. 

Swift occupied the position of dean 
of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, 
and is ordinarily spoken of as 
* Dean Swift.’ 

Alexander Pope (1688—1744), an 
eminent poet, celebrated for his 
Essay on Man, which abounds in 
splendid passages which are con¬ 
stantly quoted, also the Rape of the 
Lock, and the Dunciad ; this last 
was a severe satire on inferior 
Grub-street poets and pretenders, 
ceedingly fluent, and he shews an acute knowledge of human 
character. 

Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke (1678—1751), wrote 
a number of historical and speculative treatises, which are 
eloquent and imaginative, but generally unsound in principle ; 



Pope. 

Pope’s verse is ex- 


126 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


his works extend to several volumes. 1 Pope opens his Essay 
on Man with an address to Bolingbroke— 

* Awake, my Saint John! leave all meaner things 
To low ambition and the pride of kings.’ 

Thomas Parnell (1679—1718), a poet, contemporary with 
Swift and Pope, best remembered for his poem, The 
Hermit. 

John Gay (1688—1732), poet and dramatist, author of 
Trivia, or the Art of Walking the Streets of London; Fables, 
and the play of the Beggar’s Opera; he also wrote various 
songs and ballads, of which Black-eyed Susan remains one of 
the most popular. 

Tickell, and Ambrose Philips, as poets ; and Rowe, Lillo, 
Congreve, Vanbrugh, Farquhar, and Cibber, as dramatists, 
considerably enriched the literature of the first half of the 
18th century. 

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1690—1762), eldest daughter 
of the Duke of Kingston, who had lived with her husband at 
Constantinople, became celebrated for her Letters , which are 
models of the epistolary style—easy, familiar, and elegant, and 
interesting from their pictures of eastern manners and their 
fashionable gossip. 

Anthony Ashley Cooper, third Earl of Shaftesbury (1671— 
1713), famed as a metaphysician; his great work is entitled 
Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, and Times; as a 
moralist he maintains doctrines in opposition to Hobbes. 

Dr George Berkeley (1684— 1753), who became Bishop of 
Cloyne, in Ireland, was, like Shaftesbury, eminent as a writer 
on metaphysical subjects ; his works, of which his Theory of 
Vision is the most remarkable, form an important landmark 
in philosophical science. His system is generally spoken of 
as idealistic —that is, a system which makes the reality of the 
world depend on the human consciousness of it. 

Dr Francis Atterbury, Dr Samuel Clarke, Dr William 
Lowth, and Dr Benjamin Hoadly, were all celebrated English 
divines in this era, and have left theological works of great 
note. With these writers may be associated Charles Leslie, 
author of a work, still popular, A Short and Easy Method 
with the Deists. 

Dr Humphrey Prideaux (1648—1724), was author of The 
Connection of the History of the Old and New Testaments, a 
work highly esteemed, and invaluable to all students of 
divinity. 


1 See Historical Questions , p. 121 . 


ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


127 


35. Who was Joe Miller ?—He was a facetious and popular 
comedian, wlio acted at Drury Lane Theatre in the early 
part of the 18th century, and died 1738. After his death, 
a volume of jests, collected by a literary man named Mottley, 
was issued as Joe Miller’s Jests; and the name ‘Joe Miller’ 
has ever since been associated with books of this kind. 


The Era of the Reign of George II.—1727 to 1760. 

36. What was remarkable in this era? —The revival of 
literature in Scotland after a long depression. The revival 
was of two kinds—the rise of poets who wrote in the Scottish 
dialect, and were therefore distinctly national, and the rise of 
writers, Scotsmen by birth, whose works were a contribution 
to English literature. 

37. Mention some of the national poets of Scotland at this 
period — 

The first place is due to Allan Ramsay (1686—1758), who 
wrote many popular ballads and songs; but the work from 
which he derives lasting fame is the 
Gentle Shepherd , a pastoral in the 
Scottish dialect of singular beauty 
—perhaps the finest pastoral ever 
written—which appeared in 1725. 

Ramsay lived and died in Edin¬ 
burgh, where a monument has 
lately been erected to his memory. 

The poets of Scotland of lesser 
note in this era were Sempill of 
Beltrees, William Hamilton of Ban- 
gour, Robert Crawford, Sir Gilbert 
Elliot, and Rev. John Skinner. 

38. Who were the writers , Scotsmen 
by birth , who at this time enriched 
English literature?— Thomson, Mallet, Hume, Smollett, and 
some others. The more noted of this class take their place 
among English writers in the following list— 

James Thomson, born at Ednam, near Kelso, 1700, author 
of The Seasons, a poem in blank verse, abounding in beautiful 
rural imagery and fine feeling; he also wrote The Castle of 
Indolence and some other poems. Thomson died in 1728, and 
was buried at Richmond. His tomb is referred to in a 
mellifluous and tender Ode on his death by Collins— 



Allan Ramsay. 


128 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


‘ In yonder grave a Druid lies, 

Where slowly winds the stealing wave, 

The year’s best sweets shall duteous rise, 

To deck its Poet’s sylvan grave ! 

Remembrance oft shall haunt the shore, 

When Thames in summer wreaths is drest, 

And oft suspend the dashing oar, 

To bid his gentle spirit rest!’ 

William Collins (1720—1756), famed for his odes, parti¬ 
cularly his Ode to the Passions, his Dirge in Cymbeline, 
and other poems characterised by great imagination and 
sweetness. 

Dr Isaac Watts (1674—1748), a name ever to be pronounced 
with reverence ; he was the author of numerous small poems 
and hymns of great beauty and simplicity ; he likewise wrote 
treatises on Logic and on the Improvement of the Mind. 

Michael Bruce, a youthful poet in Scotland, who died 1767, 
composed a number of beautiful Scripture paraphrases and 
other pieces, which have been much admired. 

Dr Samuel Johnson (1709—1784 ), 1 the Leviathan of English 
literature,’ scholar, poet, essayist, lexicographer, and miscel¬ 
laneous writer. Beginning the pro¬ 
fession of an author about 1731, he 
wrote London, a satire in verse; 

The Rambler and Idler, two series 
of essays ; Rasselas; Lives of the 
Poets, and various other works; 
but his great production was his 
Dictionary of the English Language, 
which occupied him seven years, 
and appeared in 1755. Johnson 
visited the Hebrides in 1773, and 
wrote an account of his journey. 

William Somerville (1692—1742), 
author of The Chase, a poem on field- 
sports; William Shenstone (1714 — Samuel Johnson. 

1 763), pastoral and elegiac poet; David Mallet (1700—1765), 
writer of ballads, one of which, William and Margaret, is 
of particular excellence ; Mark Akenside (1721—I77o),author 
of Pleasures of the Imagination, a poem more classical 'than 
popular; and George Lord Lyttleton (1709—1773), writer of 
various poems of merit—were among the distinguished literary 
men in this era. 

# Thomas Gray (1716—1771), a poet who, though writing 
little, greatly excelled most of his contemporaries ; his poem, 



ENGLISH LITERxlTURE. 


129 


Elegy written in a, Country Churchyard , is deservedly among 
the most popular in the language. 

David Hume (1711—1776), eminent as a metaphysician and 
historian ; his first production was his Treatise on Human 
Nature, published in 1738, and the views in which were of 
a sceptical tendency. Hume, however, is best known by his 
History of England , which was not completely issued until 
1762 ; this history, though popular from the ease and elegance 
of the narrative, is now considered to be not a good authority. 

Henry Fielding (1707—1754), the greatest of the 18th- 
century novelists, but so coarse in some of his pictures of 
character, that he is now less popular than formerly ; his 
principal works are Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones, and Amelia, 
which have been often reprinted. 

Tobias George Smollett (1721—1771), distinguished as a 
historian, novelist, and poet, made literature a profession. 
He wrote a continuation of Hume’s history, but his chief 
popularity is derived from his Roderick Random, Peregrine 
Pickle , and Humphrey Clinker, novels which abound in cha¬ 
racteristic humour ; he also wrote some poems, the most 
admired being his Ode to Independence. Smollett stands pro¬ 
minently out as an author at the close of the reign of George 
II., and commencement of the reign of George III. 

Samuel Foote (1721—1777), an actor, author of humorous 
plays and farces at one time very popular, and whose 
witticisms are scattered through the old jest-books. 

Samuel Richardson (1689—1761) was a printer in London, 
who acquired celebrity as a novelist; his works are Pamela , 
Clarissa Harlowe, and Sir Charles Grandison, all very volu¬ 
minous and tedious, but acknowledged to be true pictures of 
the human character. 

39. When did Magazines begin ? —The Gentleman’s Magazine , 
the first of this class of monthly periodicals, was commenced 
in 1731, by Edward Cave, who employed Samuel Johnson 
as one of its contributors. 

40. When did Encyclopaedias begin ?—The first English Ency¬ 
clopaedia, or Dictionary of Universal Knowledge, was that of 
Ephraim Chambers, published in 1728, and often reprinted 
until superseded by the later encyclopaedias. 

41. When did Annual Registers begin ?—The first was 
commenced by Robert Dodsley, a bookseller in London, in 
1758, and is still carried on. Dodsley, who was originally 
a footman, wrote a poem, The Muse in Livery , and did 
service to literature as a collector and publisher ol old plays 
and poems. 

I 


130 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


The Era of the Early Part of the Reign of George III. 

—1760 to 1800. 

42. Mention the more noted authors of this era. —Some of the 
distinguished writers of the reign of George III. had already 
risen to fame in the reign of George II.—for example, Hume, 
Smollett, and Johnson. Leaving out these, the following were 
among the more eminent writers of this period : 

Oliver Goldsmith (1728—1774), a native of Ireland, bred to 
medicine, but an author by profession. He wrote the beau¬ 
tiful and well-known poems, The 
Traveller and The Deserted Village.; 
the exquisite novel, The Vicar of 
Wakefield; the plays, She Stoops to 
Conquer and The Good-natured Man; 
besides other works of much excel¬ 
lence. 

James Boswell (1740—1795), a 
young advocate at the Scottish bar, 
took an extraordinary fancy for 
Johnson, and frequently visiting 
him in London, collected his say¬ 
ings in his celebrated Life of that 
personage, one of the most amusing 
works ever written. Boswell also Oliver Goldsmith, 
narrates his Tour to the Hebrides with Johnson in 1773. 

James Macpherson (1738—1793), originally a schoolmaster 
in the Highlands, and acquainted with Gaelic, wrote The 
Poems of Ossian, founded on scraps of poetic legend—which, 
unfortunately for his reputation, he represented as the real 
composition of Ossian, son of Fingal, a Celtic hero or bard 
of the 4th century. 

Thomas Chatterton, born 1752, a youth of precocious poetic 
genius, who in a fit of desperation killed himself with arsenic, 
1770, wrote some odes and other poems as avowedly his owm 
productions, but is chiefly remarkable for imposing many 
others as compositions of the 15th century. 

Dr Thomas Percy, latterly Bishop of Dromore, editor of 
the Reliques of English Poetry, in which several old songs and 
ballads are revived ; and Thomas Warton, author of a History 
of English Poetry, were two literary celebrities between 1765 
and 1780. 

William Falconer, bom in Edinburgh about 1730, and bred 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


131 


a sailor, wrote tlie Shipwreck, a poem which became a favourite 
from its vivid and accurate descriptions. The author perished 
at sea, 1769, thus in the end terribly realising his own poetic 
fancies. 

James Beattie (1735—1803), a native of Kincardineshire, 
attained celebrity as the author of the Minstrel, a didactic 
poem in the Spenserian stanza, also for his ethical work, an 
Essay on Truth. 

Christopher Smart, author of the Song to David (died 
1770); William Mickle, a native of Dumfriesshire, author of 
Cumnor Hall , and other poems of merit (died 1789); and 
Thomas Moss, author of The Beggar’s Petition (died 1808), are 
numbered among the noted writers of this era. 

Dr John Wolcot, a physician in London, wrote, between 
1778 and 1808, a large number of satirical pieces in verse, 
under the adopted name of Peter Pindar ; these effusions 
were once exceedingly popular, but are now nearly all for¬ 
gotten. Wolcot died 1819. 

Mrs Barbauld (1743—1825) occupied a respectable place as 
a literary lady in this era. She wrote poems, lyrical and 
devotional, and some very excellent essays. Her contri¬ 
butions to Evenings at Home , a work for children, are well 
known. 

Sir William Jones (1746—1794), an eminent linguist, with 
able, statesman-like views, performed important services, 
by his oriental researches, particu¬ 
larly in connection with the lan¬ 
guages and antiquities of India. 

Joanna Baillie (1762 — 1851), 
daughter of a Scottish parish- 
minister, wrote a series of dramas, 
entitled Plays on the Passions, 
which appeared about 1798, but are 
unsuited for acting. 

Richard Brinsley Sheridan, born 
in Dublin 1751, became celebrated 
as a writer of clever and popular 
plays ; in 1775, he produced his 
comedy, The Rivals, and shortly 
afterwards, The School for Scandal 
and The Critic. Sheridan had also a political career, his 
speeches in parliament being marked by flashes of eloquence 
and wit. From his singular improvidence, he died in 
distress, 1816. 

George Colman the Younger, a comic dramatist, contem¬ 
porary with Sheridan, wrote a number of popular plays, 




132 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


including The Heir at Laiv, and the musical opera of Inkle 
and Yarico, between 1784 and 1800; he afterwards produced 
a variety of clever poetical effusions.—Died 1836. 

Thomas Holcroft (1745—1809) was a noted translator of 
works from the French, one of the best known of theso 
productions being the Tales of the Castle, from the French 
of Madame de Genlis. He was also the author of thirty 
plays, the most admired of which is The Road to Ruin, a 
comedy. 

Mrs Elizabeth Inchbald, an actress about 1780, gained 
celebrity as author of two tales, The Simple Story, and 
Nature and Art ; latterly, she edited a well-known collection 
of plays.—Died 1821. 

Laurence Sterne, born in 1713 at Clonmel, in Ireland, was 
the son of an officer in the army, and became a clergyman 
in England ; as a novelist, he was next in order of time and 
genius to Fielding and Smollett. Excelling in the comic and 
pathetic, he wrote Tristram Shandy, which -was completed in 
1767, and The Sentimental Journey, which appeared in 1768, 
the year of his death. 

Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford, third son of Sir Robert 
Walpole—bom 1717, was a noted man of letters in this era. 
He revived romance-writing by producing The Castle of 
Otranto, but he has had greater fame on account of his Letters, 
which embrace a vast amount of curious information regarding 
the fashionable world during his time. His dwelling, Straw¬ 
berry Hill, was an extraordinary museum of curiosities.—Died 
1797 - 

Henry Mackenzie, born at Edinburgh 1745, eminent as the 
author of The Man of Feeling, a novel, which appeared in 
1771 ; he wrote some other novels of less note, and was the 
principal contributor to the Mirror and Lounger. He long 
survived these literary efforts, and died in 1831. 

Frances Burney (1752—1840), authoress of Evelina, a 
simple novel of great merit, published in 1778, also of Cecilia: 
afterwards, she was a keeper of the robes to the queen of 
George III., an office of which she gives an account in her 
Diary, a work in several volumes. Miss Burney was married 
in 1793 to a French refugee officer, the Count d’Arblay, by 
whose name she accordingly became known. 

William Beckford (1759—1844), a wealthy English gentle¬ 
man, was the author of Vathelc, an Arabian tale, which appeared 
in 1786. Byron praises this romance for its correctness of 
costume, beauty of description, and power of imagination. 
Beckford wrote some other works of less note. 

Sophia and Harriet Lee, two sisters who died at an advanced . 


ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


133 


age—the last survivor in 1851—gained celebrity for their 
Canterbury Tales , which appeared in 1797. 

Dr John Moore, born at Stirling 1729 ; some time a 
medical practitioner in Glasgow, and afterwards in London, 
was the author of Zeluco , and other fictions.—Died 1802. His 
eldest son was General Sir John Moore, who distinguished 
himself in the famous retreat in the Peninsula. 

Charlotte Smith was the authoress of several popular 
novels, which appeared about 1790; one of her female con¬ 
temporaries as a romance-writer was Mrs Ann Radcliffe, who 
produced her Mysteries of Udolpho in 1797. 

Dr William Robertson (1721—1793), a minister of the 
Church of Scotland, was eminent as an historian ; his works, 
which are written in a luminous and elegant style, are, 
History of Scotland, History of the Reign of Charles V ., History 
of America, and Historical Disquisition on Ancient India —all 
of which are now standard works in English literature. 

Edward Gibbon (1737—1794), was a historian of great 
erudition and comprehensive and critical intellect. While 
residing at Lausanne, in Switzer¬ 
land, in 1787, he completed his 
History of the Decline and Fall of 
the Roman Empire, a work involving 
immense research, and which places 
the author as the first of English 
historians ; his style, however, 
though splendid, is not good, and 
his representation of ecclesiastical 
history must be received with cau¬ 
tion. The work has been translated 
into almost every European lan¬ 
guage. 

Dr William Paley (1743—1805), 
archdeacon of Carlisle, was emi- Edward Gibbon, 

nent for his ethical and philosophical writings ; his best 
known works are his Elements of Moral and Political 
Philosophy, published in 1785; his Horae Paulince (1790); 
and his Natural Theology, 1802. 

Dr Hugh Blair, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, author 
of Sermons, distinguished for their elegance of style (died 
1800); Dr Samuel Horsley, bishop of St Asaph, critic and 
scholar, and author of various controversial disquisitions 
(died 1806) ; and Dr Richard Watson, bishop of Llandaff, 
author of An Apology for the Bible (died 1810) ; occupied a 
high rank among divines towards the conclusion of the 18th 
century. 



134 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


William Wilberforce (1759—1833), eminent as a statesman, 
philanthropist, and writer on religious subjects; he is most 
prominent, however, for his extraordinary exertions in favour 
of the abolition of slavery within the British dominions, which 
he lived to see effected. 

Edmund Burke (1730—1797), a native of Dublin, eminent 
as a philosophical and eloquent statesman, wrote several 
political and other treatises ; his most famous work is his 
Inquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and 
Beautiful , 1 but his best is Reflections on the French 
Revolution. 

Dr Adam Smith, born at Kirkcaldy 1723, was for some years 
Professor of Moral Philosophy in the university of Glasgow, 
where he wrote his Theory of the Moral Sentiments-. Smith is 
best known by his Wealth of Nations, a work comprehending 
advanced views of political economy, which appeared in 1776, 
and remains the great text-book on the subject. 

Dr Adam Ferguson (1724—1816), a native of Perthshire, 
eminent for his learning, was for some years Professor of 
Moral Philosophy in the TJniversity 
of Edinburgh. His chief works are 
the History of Civil Society, pub¬ 
lished in 1766 ; Institutes of Moral 
Philosophy, 1769; and History of the 
Roman Republic, 1783—this last the 
most valuable of all his writings. 

Mrs Hannah More (1745—1833), 
a pious and literary lady, wrote a 
number of religious and moral trea¬ 
tises, which appeared from 1782 to 
1819, but her best known produc¬ 
tion is a novel, Coelebs in Search of 
a Wife, 1809. 

James Bruce of Kinnaird, a Scot¬ 
tish gentleman of ancient family and property, born 1730, 
wrote an account of his Travels to discover the Sources of the 
Nile, which appeared in 1790.—Died 1794. 

Mungo Park, a native ot Selkirkshire, born ijyi, acquired 
celebrity from his Travels in Africa, which appeared 1799, and 
attained great popularity. This observant and enterprising 
traveller perished in a second African expedition, 1805. 

William Cowper (1731—1800), an eminent poet, spent part 
of his life as a recluse at Olney, in Buckinghamshire; his 
chief poems are Table Talk, The Progress of Error , The Task , 

1 See Historical Questions, pages 128,168. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


135 


and Expostulation,, but lie wrote a number of minor pieces, 
including John Gilpin. His works are mostly didactic, and 
bear evidence of a thoughtful mind and gentle spirit. Cowper 
forms a connecting-link between the 18th-century poets and 
those of later times. 


43. IVho was David Garrick ?—He was a celebrated actor 
of the 18th century, born 1716. Garrick was great alike in 
comedy and tragedy, and was manager of Drury Lane Theatre 
for 29 years. He retired from the stage, 1776, and died 

1779. 

44. Who were the Kembles ?—They were a remarkable family 
of actors subsequent to the age of Garrick. The most noted of 
the group was John Kemble (1757—1823), and his sister Sarah, 
who became Mrs Siddons (1755—1831), both eminent in repre¬ 
senting the tragic characters of Shakspeare. 

45. What were the Ireland forgeries ?—They were forgeries 
of various documents alleged to be the writings of Shakspeare, 
executed by a youth, W. H. Ireland (1777—1834). For a 
time they imposed on the public ; but the fraud was at length 
detected, and ultimately acknowledged, 1805. 


46. What Scottish poets appeared in the second half of the 
iSth century ?—There were ten or more, whose lyrics and 
other pieces enrich the National literature of Scotland. The 
more famed members of the group were as follows : 

Lady Anne Lyndsay, who about 
1771, wrote the ballad, Auld Robin 
Gray ; by marriage, her name became 
Lady Anne Barnard.—Died 1825. 

Miss Elliot and Mrs Cockburn, 
each the authoress of a version of 
The Flowers of the Forest —both 
versions are popular. 

Robert Fergusson, born at Edin¬ 
burgh 1750, attained celebrity as a 
Scottish poet of city-life, and died 
1774. 

Robert Burns, the greatest of 
the Scottish poets, son of a small 
farmer in Ayrshire, born January 25, 

1759; wor ks were first issued — , 

stamped him as a poet of the highest ordei\ His life was an 
almost continuous struggle with difficulties, and he died 
prematurely, July 21, 1796. 

Alexander Wilson (1766—1813), a native of Paisley, author 



m 


Robert Burns. 

1786, and at once 


130 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


of Watty and Meg and other poems, chiefly humorous. He 
emigrated to the United States, and there produced a 
meritorious work on American Ornithology. 

Hector Macneill (1746—1818), author of the poem, Scot¬ 
land’s Skaith, or the History of Will and Jean , designed to 
picture the evils of intemperance. Macneill wrote also some 
popular lyrics. 

47. What was the ‘ Poetry of the Anti-Jacobin V —It consisted 
of clever poetical effusions contributed to the Anti-Jacobin , 
a weekly paper in London, 1797, which had been established 
to counteract the wild Jacobin sentiments propagated by the 
French revolutionists. 

48. Who were the chief writers in the Anti-Jacobin ? —The 
two most noted were William Gifford, who ultimately became 
editor of the Quarterly Review (died 1826); and George 
Canning, who attained celebrity as a statesman (died 1827). 

49. What is to be understood by the 1 Scotch School ’ of Phil¬ 
osophy ? —That designation has been applied to a system of 
sober and rational inquiry into the faculties and modes 
of operation of the human mind, which originated in Scot¬ 
land in the 18th century, in opposition to the scepticism of 
Hume. 

50. Mention some of the more noted Scottish philosophers. — 
"Dr Thomas Reid, author of an Inquiry into the Human Mind 
(died 1796); Dugald Stewart, author of Outlines of Moral 
Philosophy and other works (died 1828); Dr Thomas Brown 
(died 1820) ; and Sir William Hamilton (died 1856), whose 
profound philosophical works have lately been published. 

51. Mention some of the more eminent men of science in this 
era. —John Hunter, eminent in surgical and anatomical science 
(died 1793); Edward Jenner, who attained universal celebrity 
as the discoverer of vaccination (died 1823) ; Joseph Black 
(died 1799), and Joseph Priestley (died 1804), both distin¬ 
guished for their discoveries in chemistry and natural phil¬ 
osophy ; James Watt, the great perfecter of the steam-engine 
(died 1819) ; Sir Joseph Banks, distinguished as a naturalist 
(died 1820) ; and Sir William Herschel, a native of Hanover, 
eminent for his astronomical discoveries (died 1822). 

52. What was the 1 Huttonian Theory V —It was a theory 
propounded by James Hutton, an eminent geologist (died 
1797), to the effect that certain beds and masses of rock took 
their form and character from fire, or had been produced by 
igneous agency. 


ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


137 


53. What was the 1 Wernerian Theory V —It was to the effect 
that all rocks, including, of course, those referred to by Hutton, 
took their form and character frorfi water, or were produced 
by aqueous agency. This theory was given to the world by 
Werner, an eminent German mineralogist. The Huttonian is 
sometimes called the ‘ Plutonic theory while the Wernerian 
is sometimes called the ‘ Neptunian theory.’ 

54. What is now thought of these contending theories ?— Geo¬ 
logists are generally of opinion that the views of Werner, as 
far as the rocks referred to by Hutton are concerned, are wrong. 


The Era of the Conclusion of the Reign of George III., 
and Reigns of George IV., William IV., and 
Victoria—1801 to 1865. 

55. When did Reviews begin ? —The earliest was the Monthly 
Review , begun 1749; and some others were commenced in the. 
18th century ; but the first established of any note v/as the 
Edinburgh Review , which began in 1802. 

56. By whom was the Edinburgh Review begun ? —It was set 
on foot by a group of able young writers, of Whig principles, 
including Francis Jeffrey, Rev. Sydney Smith, Francis 
Horner, Henry Brougham, and some others. 

57. When was the Quarterly Review begun? —It was com¬ 
menced in 1809, by writers professing Tory or Conservative 
principles, and became the political opponent of the 
Edinburgh. 

5 8. Mention the more noted writers from the beginning of the 
igth century — 

Rev. George Crabbe, born in Suffolk 1754, author of The 
Village, Parish Register, The Borough, Tales of the Hall, and 
other poems, published between 1781 and 1818. Crabbe has 
been called ‘ the poet of the poor,’ for many of his simple and 
pathetic descriptions refer to humble life in rural districts* 
—Died 1832. 

Jeremy Bentham (1748—1832), was an eminent writer on 
Political Economy and Jurisprudence ; he adopted as his 
standard principle in social questions, ‘ the greatest happiness 
of the greatest number ’—a phrase often since quoted. 

Samuel Rogers, son of a banker in London, bom 1763, 
was the author of various poems which were issued only 
after long and patient study. Rogers was essentially the 
poet of taste. His principal poems are Pleasures of Memory. 


138 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 



William Wordsworth. 


Human Life, and Italy. After being a noted man of letters 
for the greater part of a century, he died 1855. 

William Wordsworth, born in Cumberland 1770, author of 
The Excursion, a philosophical poem in blank verse ; The 
White Doe of Bylstone, Sonnets on 
the River Duddon, and numerous 
minor poems, abounding in pathos, 
grace of imagery, and subtle beauty 
of language. His noble sonnets 
have rarely, if ever, been surpassed. 

The term ‘ Lake School,’ applied to 
Wordsworth and his personal friends Jp 
and brother-poets, Coleridge and \ ' 

Southey, has little or no meaning, $ 
and is now falling into disuse .—n 
Died 1850. 

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, born 
in Devonshire 1772, a profound 
thinker and imaginative poet, wrote 
numerous poems, of which the three most appreciated are 
Christabel, Genevieve, and The Ancient Mariner. —Died 1834. 

Robert Southey, born at Bristol 1774, was noted not only 
as a poet, but as a biographer, antiquary, critic, and historian. 
While young, he wrote a poem, Wat Tyler, which he after¬ 
wards withdrew; his later and best known poems are Thalaba, 
The Curse of Keliama, and Roderick, the Last of the Goths. 
His most popular prose works are the Life of Nelson, and Life 
of John Wesley; he wrote numerous articles in the Quarterly 
Review, and was the author altogether of above 100 volumes. 
Southey was appointed poet-laureate in 1813.—Died 1843. 

Charles Lamb, born in London 1775, poet and essayist, 
was remarkable for his humour and kindliness of feeling. 
His poems are now little heard of, and his fame rests chiefly 
on his essays, which were contributed to the London Magazine 
under the signature of Elia. By this assumed designation, 
Lamb is best known in literature.—Died 1834. 

Thomas Moore, bom in Dublin 1779, became distinguished 
for his sentimental lyrics and his poetical satires. The more 
conspicuous of his political satires were his Twopenny Post-bag 
and The Fudge Family in Paris; but these and all his other 
poetical effusions have been obscured by the brilliancy of his 
Irish Melodies, and his Lalla Rookh, both alike imperishable. 
—Died 1852. 

Thomas Campbell, born in Glasgow 1777, and for a time 
a tutor in the island of Mull, was the author of the Pleasures of 
Hope, which appeared in 1799, and at once placed its youthful 


ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


139 


author in the first rank of poets. Campbell afterwards, wrote 
Gertrude of Wyoming, and other poems ; also several songs, 
two of which, The Exile of Erin, and Ye Mariners of England , 
will ever remain popular.—Died 1844. 

Walter Scott, born in Edinburgh 1771, was eminent 
as a poet, but more so as a novelist. He began his literary- 
career as an editor of old ballads, a collection of which, 
with some modern imitations, was published under the 
title of Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. His first poem. 
The Lay of the Last Minstrel , appeared in 1802, and was 
succeeded by Marmion, The Lady of the Lake, and The Lord of 
the Isles; these, and most of his other poems, were exceedingly 
fluent and descriptive, and marked by strong national feeling. 
Waverley, the first of his celebrated novels, appeared in 1814. 
He was created a baronet by George IV. Scott died at 
Abbotsford, his favourite country residence on the Tweed, 1832. 

George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron, bom in London 1788, 
was one of the most eminent English poets of this era. His 
first volume of poetry, entitled 
Hours of Idleness , appeared in 
1807, and on its being reviewed 
unfavourably by the Edinburgh 
Review, he was provoked to write 
a severe satire, English Bards and 
Scotch Reviewers. In 1812 appeared 
the first part of his Childe Harold, 
and afterwards he produced in; 
quick succession The Giaour, Bride 
of Abydos, Corsair, Lara, Siege of \ 

Corinth, Prisoner of Chillon, and' 
other poems. Byron excelled in 
painting strong and gloomy passions, 
and no poet in modern times has so 
effectually stirred the depths of the human heart. His great 
work is Childe Harold, a noble poem in the Spenserian stanza. 
—Died in Greece 1824. 

William Hazlitt was a miscellaneous writer, whose criti¬ 
cisms on poetry, the drama, and the fine arts, and also his 
essays, shew a bold and vigorous mind; his sparkling and 
pungent style is particularly fascinating.—Died 1830. 

Rev. Sydney Smith, a clergyman of the Church of 
England, born 1771, began his literary career as one of the 
originators of the Edinburgh Review. He produced a num¬ 
ber of works of passing interest, poetical and satirical, all 
in the cause of social amelioration, and marked by a fine 
genial spirit. He died 1845, and an amusing memoir 



Byron. 


140 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


of his life has been given to the world by his daughter, Lady 
Holland. 

59. Mention some noted 'poets contemporary ivith, or successors 
to, Scott and Byron. —Percy Bysshe Shelley (drowned 1822); 
James-Henry Leigh Hunt, ordinarily called Leigh Hunt, 
who was eminent as an essayist as well as a poet (died 1859) r 
John Keats (died 1821); James Montgomery, religious poet 
(died 1854); and Thomas Hood, eminent for his humorous 
and pathetic poetry (died 1845). 

60. Mention some of the minor but popular poets of this era. 
—Henry Kirke White (died 1806); John Leyden (died 1811) J 
Rev. James Grahame (died 1811); John Clare, known as the 
‘Northamptonshire Peasant’ (died 1864); James and Horace 
Smith, authors of the Rejected Addresses; and Mrs Hemans 
(died 1835). 

61. Mention some poets in the early part of the 19 th century 
who used the Scottish dialect— James Hogg, known as the 
‘Ettrick Shepherd/ author of The Queen's Wake , and the 
greatest Scottish poet after Burns (died 1835) ; Robert Tanna- 
hill, author of several fine lyrics (died 1810) ; and Allan 
Cunningham, ballad and songwriter (died 1842). Those of 
less note were James Mayne, William Tennant, and Sir 
Alexander Boswell. Latterly, some beautiful and popular 
Scottish lyrics have been written by Janies Ballantine, 
Edinburgh. 

62. Who was John Wilson ?—He was a poet, novelist, and 
miscellaneous writer, born at Paisley 1785 ; but though a 
Scotsman by birth, his writings 
belong to English literature. He 
was a noted contributor to Black¬ 
wood's Magazine, in which he was 
known as ‘ Christopher North.’ 

Wilson was souie years Professor of 
Moral Philosophy in the University 
of Edinburgh.—Died 1854. 

63. Mention some eminent novelists 
of this era. —Besides Scott and 
Wilson, the list of novelists includes 
J. G. Lockhart, John Galt, Theo¬ 
dore Hook, Samuel Lover, C. J. 

Lever, John Banim, William 
Carleton, W. H. Ainsworth, G. 

P. It. James, Anthony Trollope, and Benjamin Disraeli—this 
last writer being also a statesman distinguished for his elo¬ 
quence. There has been likewise a number of female novelists. 








ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


141 


64. Mention the more eminent of these female novelists. —Mrs 
Opie, Lady Morgan, (originally Miss Owenson), Miss Austen, 
Mrs Brunton, Miss Mitford, Miss Ferrier, Mrs S. C. Hall, Mrs 
Trollope, Miss Bronte (better known by her pseudonym of 
Currer Bell), Miss Evans (who writes under the name of 
George Eliot), Mrs Henry Wood, and Miss Mulock. But this 
list could be greatly enlarged. 

65. Mention four celebrated writers of fiction of our own times. 
—W. M. Thackeray, deceased; Douglas Jerrold, deceased ; 
Charles Dickens, and Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton. 

66. Mention four eminent historians of our own times. —Lord 
Macaulay (died 1859), author of The History of England , from 
the Accession of Jamies II.; J. A. Froude, author of The History 
of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth, 
a work, the first part of which was written to vindicate the 
character of Henry VIII.; George Grote, author of The History 
of Greece , a work of great erudition ; and Sir Archibald Alison, 
author of The History of Europe from the Commencement of the 
French Revolution to the Restoration of the Bourbons. 

67. Mention some distinguished scientific writers in the present 
century. —-Sir Humphry Davy, noted for his discoveries in 
chemistry (died 1829) ; John Dalton, also eminent for chemi¬ 
cal discoveries, particularly as concerns gases (died 1844); Sir 
Charles Lyell and Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, eminent 
geologists ; Sir David Brewster, eminent for his discoveries in 
natural philosophy ; Hugh Miller, a popular illustrator of 
geology (died 1856); Richard Owen, eminent for his expositions 
of natural history and physiology ; and Sir John Herschel, 
eminent for his astronomical speculations, and his brilliant 
success in diffusing a knowledge of his favourite science. 

68 . Mention some noted miscellaneous writers in our own 
times. —Thomas De Quincey, an essayist distinguished for 
subtlety of fancy and intellect (deceased); John Ramsay 
M‘Culloch, writer on political economy (deceased) ; Rev. Dr 
Thomas Chalmers, author of various theological works (died 
1847) 5 Thomas Carlyle, author of the History of Frederick the 
Great , and numerous other works of an historical and politico- 
moral kind ; John Stuart Mill, author of works on logic and 
political economy ; Henry Lord Brougham (born 1778), writer 
of a vast variety of works, including Memoirs of the Statesmen 
of the Reign of George III.; John Lord Campbell (deceased), 
author of Lives of the Chancellors; and John Earl Russell, 
author of several works in miscellaneous literature, and 
distinguished as a statesman. 


142 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


69. Mention an English eminent poet in the reign of Victoria. 
—Alfred Tennyson, born 1810, author of In Memoriam, Idylls 
of the King, and numerous other 
poems. Mr Tennyson holds the 
office of poet-laureate, which was 
previously held by Wordsworth. 

70. What is the office of poet-laur¬ 
eate ? —It is an office in the gift of 
the sovereign, which originated 
about the reign of Edward IY. 

Until recent times, the duty of the 
laureate was to write an ode on the 
birthday of the sovereign, and some¬ 
times on the occasion of a national 
victory. The office is now honorary, 
with emoluments amounting to £127 
annually. Alfred Tennyson. 

71. What is the 1 Harleian Collection '?' 1 —It is a collection 
of valuable manuscripts in the British Museum, purchased by 
parliament in the reign of George IY. The collection was 
formed by Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, an eminent states¬ 
man and great patron of literature, who died 1724. 

72. When was the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Know¬ 
ledge established? —It was established in 1825, and in 1827 it 
commenced to issue treatises, the first of which was written 
by Lord Brougham. The society existed only a few years, 
but was of great service in promoting a popular taste for 
literature. 

73. When did cheap literature of the kind now prevalent 
begin? —It began in 1832, in the reign of William IY. 
One of the most eminent pioneers of this species of popular 
literature was Charles Knight, London. 

74. Mention a remarkable change that has taken place in 
literature. —The decline of dramatic and poetic literature, and 
a corresponding increase in the number of novels, written less 
to depict real life than to excite and startle—ordinarily called 
‘ sensational novels such a marked change being coincident 
with alterations in public taste. 

75. What is 1 copyright ?’ —It is a right of property possessed 
by authors in the works they compose, which right they can 
sell or assign. In the United Kingdom, the right, with some 
qualifications, is valid for 42 years, or during the lifetime of 
the author. The law of copyright dates only from the reign 
of Queen Anne. 








ENGLISH LITERATURE. 


143 


76. What is 4 liberty of the press 1 ’—It is the printing and 
vending of books, newspapers, and other kinds of literature 
without interruption from any public authority. This free¬ 
dom prevails in its fullest extent in the United Kingdom, the 
only statutory restriction imposed being on the issue of works 
of an immoral tendency. 


77. Has literature been successfully cultivated in the United 
States of America ? —Yes ; but only in recent times, when 
there have been numerous writers, whose works exhibit the 
same characteristics as those of their English contemporaries. 

78. Mention some of the earlier American writers. 

Benjamin Franklin, man of science and statesman, who, 

besides Essays and miscellaneous papers, wrote his Auto¬ 
biography, an amusing work which details his youthful 
struggles as a printer.—Died 1790. 

Jonathan Edwards, died 1758, and Timothy Dwight, died 
1830; both eminent for their theological writings. 

Charles Brockdon Brown, celebrated for his novels— Arthur 
Mervyn and others—which appeared from 1798 to 1804.— 
Died 1809. 

79. Mention some more recent American writers. 

George Bancroft (born 1800), eminent for his History of 
America and other works. 

Washington Irving, historical and miscellaneous writer, but 
best known as author of the Sketch-Book (died 1859). 

W. H. Prescott, author of The History of Ferdinand and 
Isabella , and other works (died 1859). 

Ralph W. Emerson > a very subtle metaphysician of the 
transcendental school. 

James Russell Lowell, author of the Biglow Papers. 

J. K. Paulding (died i860), Edgar Allan Poe (died 1849), 
and W. C. Bryant, poets. 

Dr Noah Webster (died 1843), celebrated for his Dictionary 
of the English Language. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne (deceased), J. F. Cooper (died 1851), 
and Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe, novelists. 

The most popular of living American poets is Henry 
Wadsworth Longfellow, author of Evangeline , the Song of 
Hiawatha, and other poems. 1 ; 

1 For full information concerning English Literature, students may 
consult the Cyclopaedia of English Literature , edited by Robert 
Chambers, LL.D., 2 vols. 8vo. 



144 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


The Fine Arts. 


I. What are the Fine Arts ?—They include Painting, Sculp¬ 
ture, Architecture, Music, and other branches of art of a refined 
or ornamental nature. 


Painting. 

2. In what does Painting consist ?—It consists in the repre¬ 
sentation of natural and artificial objects by means of colours 
on walls, canvas, paper, and other flat surfaces. 

3. Mention some of the leading departments in the art of 
painting. —Historical painting, landscape painting, marine 
painting, portrait painting, animal painting, and the painting 
of droll scenes and familiar objects. Historical painting, which 
embraces subjects in scripture and civil history, is considered 
to be the highest department in the art. 

4. Is the art of painting of ancient date? —Yes ; it was 
practised in Egypt at a very remote period, and in ancient 
Greece, and in Rome. 

5. Who vms Apelles ? —He was the most renowned of the 
Grecian painters, and flourished between 336 and 306 b. c. 
For some years he practised his art at the court of Philip of 
Macedon, and executed a picture of Alexander the Great. 
The finest of Apelles’s paintings was his Venus rising from 
the Sea , with a shower of silver drops falling round her like 
a veil of gauze. 

6. What is Perspective? —It is the science which teaches 
the art of depicting and placing objects in the manner in 
which they appear to the eye in nature—the parts which are 
near being larger than those at a distance, according to certain 
rules and proportions. 

7. What are Pigments ?—They are the colouring substances 
employed by painters, and usually consist of chemical and 
mechanical preparations of metals united with oil—the result 
being what is termed 1 oil painting,’ as distinguished from 
painting with water-colours or with size. 

8. Who were the Byzantine artists ?—They were artists of 
Byzantium or Constantinople, by whom the art of painting 
was preserved during the middle ages, and communicated by 





THE FIXE ARTS. 


143 


them to Italy, Germany, and other countries early in the 13 th 
century. 

9. From whom did the Byzantine artists and their successors 
receive encouragement in Italy and elsewhere ? —They received 
encouragement from successive popes and wealthy ecclesias¬ 
tics, who employed them to decorate places of public worship 
with subjects from sacred histoiy. 

10. Mention two of the noted early Italian 'painters .— 
Cimabue, who flourished about 1270, and Giotto, about 1300 ; 
but there were several others. 

11. What is meant by schools of painting ? —By c schools 7 is 
signified styles of treating subjects which have been adopted 
in different cities and countries. Thus, there are the Roman, 
Florentine, Bolognese, and Venetian, which constitute the 
Italian schools ; also the French, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, 
and English schools. 

12. Mention the three greatest painters of the Italian schools. 
—Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo, and Raphael, all of 
whom flourished at the beginning of the 16th century, and 
gave a new character to art. 

13. What was the most celebrated work of Leonardo da Vinci ? 
—The Last Supper , a painting executed on an inner wall in 
a monastery at Milan about the year 1500; this great work, 
which has been often copied in 
engravings, is now in a very de¬ 
cayed condition. 

14. Who was Raphael ?—He was 
the greatest of the Italian painters. 

His proper name was Raffaelle 
Sanzio of (Jrbino ; he was bom in 
1483, and died when 37 years of 
age, 1520. His instructor was 
Perugino, a famed Italian artist. 

During his short career, Raphael 
rose to the highest fame as an artist, 
and he stands at the head of the 
Roman school. His chaste noble¬ 
ness of design, simplicity and beauty 
of proportion, and truth to nature, are his leading charac¬ 
teristics. His greatest picture is the Transfiguration, in the 
Vatican at Rome. He is called by the Italians the ‘ Divine 
Raphael.’ 

15. What are the Cartoons of Raphael ?—They are paintings 
in water-colours on stout paper, representing subjects from 

J 



146 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


the New Testament, designed as patterns for tapestry ; seven 
of these were purchased by Charles I., and were placed in 
Hampton Court. 

16. State some particulars concerning Michael Angelo. —His 
name, in full, was Michael Angelo Buonarotti; he was born 
in Tuscany, 1474. Although placed at the head of the 
Florentine school, his great works were executed in Rome— 
his most famous production being the Last Judgment , which is 
painted on the ceiling and end wall of the Sistine chapel, and 
is remarkable for its representation of the grand and the 
terrible. Michael Angelo, who was great in sculpture and 
architecture, as well as in painting, died 1563. 

17. Who was Correggio ? —He was the founder of the school 
of Parma or Lombardy, which had for its chief characteristics 
a harmony of colours and a powerful contrast of light and 
shade. Correggio died 1534. His most famous picture, called 
La Notte (The Night), is in the collection at Dresden; it 
represents the Virgin bending over the infant Jesus, from 
whom streams a celestial light, which irradiates surrounding 
objects—a marvellous triumph of art. 

18. Who was Titian ? —He was a very eminent painter of 
the Venetian school, born about 1480, and a contemporary 
of Correggio. The most celebrated of Titian’s pictures is the 
Assumption of the Virgin , which he painted for an altar-piece 
in 1516 ; it is considered to be one of the finest pictures in 
the world. Titian died 1576, and was succeeded in the 
Venetian school by Tintoretto and Paul Veronese. 

19. Who was Canaletto ? —He was a later painter of the 
Venetian school, who died in London, 1768. His pictures, 
which are exceedingly fine, represent architectural subjects, 
chiefly the palaces of Venice. 

20. Who were the Caraccis ? —They were three noted painters, 
founders of the Bolognese school, kinsmen and fellow- 
labourers, who flourished about 1600. Some of the finest 
works of Annibal Caracci are in Bologna. The Caraccis were 
followed by Domenichino (died 1641), and Guido Reni, both 
of whom have left grand pictures on sacred subjects. 

21. Who was Albert Diirer ? —He has been styled the 
father of the German school of painting, and prince of artists. 
He was born at Numberg, 1471, and distinguished himself in 
youth by his exquisite carving; he subsequently adopted 
painting as his profession. He excelled in originality and 
accuracy of design. Albert Diirer died 1528. 






THE PINE ARTS. 


147 ' 

22. Who was Holbein ? —Hans Holbein was a painter of the 
German school, a contemporary of Albert Diirer ; removing 
to England, he executed several portraits of Henry VIII. ^ 
bom 1498 ; died 1554. 

23. Who was Salvator Eosa ?— He was an Italian artist of 
extraordinary genius— painter,. poet, musician, and actor- 
bom 1615 ; he practised painting at Rome, where he was at 
the height of his reputation in 1639. His favourite land¬ 
scapes are gloomy and romantic solitudes, which are painted 
with great force of imagination.—Died 1673. 

24. Who was Claude Lorraine ?■ —He was a great landscape 
painter ; his proper name was Claude Gelee, and he had the 
name Lorraine from being born in 
that province of France, 1600. 

Claude practised his art at Rome, 
and became remarkable for his 
exquisite representation of rural 
scenery.—Died 1682. 

25. Mention two leading masters 
of the French school. — Nicholas 
Poussin (died 1665), and Charles 
Le Brun (died 1690). Poussin 
celebrated for his landscapes, with 
scriptural and classic figures, which 
possess a certain poetic feeling. Le 
Brun, who was of Scottish extrac¬ 
tion, executed various historical 
paintings for Louis XIV. 

26. Who were the Vernets ? —There have been three notable 
French painters of that name—father, son, and grandson. 
The first, Claude Joseph Vernet, born at Avignon, 1714, was 
renowned for his sea-pieces, with shipping, which are well 
known from engravings. The second, Carle Vernet, bom 
1758, was equally celebrated for his battle-pieces. The third, 
Horace Vernet, bom 1789, attained distinction for his gigantic 
pictures representing events in recent French history, which 
embellish the walls of the royal palaces. 

27. Who was Watteau ? —He was a French painter, bom 
1684, whose style of art is very peculiar. Watteau’s pictures 
represent rural fetes, with fancifully-dressed shepherds and 
shepherdesses—a species of Arcadian poetry on canvas ; died 
1721. A scene with people of fashion scattered theatrically 
about among trees, is said to be ‘ after Watteau.’ 

28. Who was Greuze ? —He was a celebrated French painter, 




148 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


born 1726, who carried art forward to the 19th century. 
Greuze excelled in exciting and pathetic scenes—his series 
of pictures depicting the history of a prodigal son, in the 
Gallery of the Louvre, being perhaps the best known. He 
has been styled the ‘ French Hogarth/—Died 1805. 

29. Who was David ? —He was a French painter, greatly 
encouraged by Napoleon I., and gained celebrity as the founder 
of a French classical style, which is now, however, regarded as 
too formal.—Died 1825. Latterly, Paul de la Roche has occu¬ 
pied a high place in the French school of historical painting. 

30. Who is Rosa Bonlieur 1 —She is a French lady, born 
at Bordeaux, 1822, who has gained 
celebrity as an animal painter. Her 
pictures are remarkable for their 
beauty, vigour, and fidelity to 
nature. 

31. Who was Rubens ? —Peter 

Paul Rubens, born 1577, stands at 
the head of the Flemish school of 
painters. He excelled in colour¬ 
ing and boldness of execution ; all 
his figures being remarkable for 
strong physical development. The 
grandest pictures of Rubens repre¬ 
sent Scripture subjects, one of the 
best known of which is the Descent Rosa Bonheur. 

from the Cross , in the cathedral at Antwerp.—Died 1640. 

32. Who are the other noted painters of the Flemish school ?— 
Anthony Van Dyck, died in England, 1641 ; David Teniers 
the Younger, celebrated for vivid transparent effects—died 
1694 ; and Snyders, noted for hunting scenes—died 1657. 

33. Who was Rembrandt ?—Rembrandt was a painter ad¬ 
mitted to be the head of the Dutch school, born 1606. His 
pictures are noted for originality of design, and a rich golden 
tone of colouring.—Died 1669. 

34. Who was Paul Potter ? —He was an eminent painter of 
the Dutch school, born 1625. His grandest and best known 
piece is his Bull , now in a national collection at the Hague, 
which is visited by innumerable tourists for the pleasure of 
seeing this single picture.—Died 1654. 

35. Mention some other distinguished painters of the Dutch 
school —Cuyp, Terburgh, Ostade, Hobbima, Karl du Jarden, 
Jan Steen, Van de Yelde, Ruisdaal, Gerard Douw, Bergliem, 
and Wouvermans—all of whom flourished in the 17 th century. 








THE FINE ARTS. 


149 


36. Wliat is a general characteristic of the Dutch school ?— 
Many of the pictures, particularly those of Ostade and the 
elder Teniers, represent scenes of low humour ; others have a 
higher aim. Ruisdaal is celebrated for his dashing water-falls, 
and Berghem and Wouverman for their beautiful small 
pictures representing subjects with animals. 

37. Mention two great masters in the Spanish school. —Velas¬ 
quez, who died 1660; and Murillo, who died 1682. Murillo 
is by far the most eminent Spanish painter, and his works are 
numerous and highly prized. He is well known for pictures 
of beggar-boys, also for his sacred subjects, particularly the 
Virgin and Child , in which he excels. 


38. Who was Spagnoletto ?—He was a native of Spain, 
named Ribera, but proceeding, while young, to Italy, he was 
there called Spagnoletto or the little Spaniard, by which he 
became known in art. He excels as a painter of gloomy and 
ghastly subjects, such as martyrdoms and heads of aged and 
dying monks, all strikingly faithful to nature.—Died 1656. 



39. When did painting rise to eminence in England f—Not 
till the 18th century ; but previously, through the encourage¬ 
ment given to the fine arts by Charles I., a class of native 
painters had begun to rise up. 

40. Who was Sir Peter Lely ?—He was a native of Westphalia, 
bom 1617 or 1618, who came to England, and 'was appointed 
state-painter by Charles II., who 
had known him in Holland. Lely 
is best known for his charmingly 
executed portraits of the beauties of 
the court of Charles II.—Died 1680. 

.41. Who was Hogarth ?—William 
Hogarth, born 1697, was the first 
distinguished English painter, and 
with him the English school com¬ 
menced ; he was at the height of his 
fame in 1745. Hogarth’s chief pic¬ 
tures were moral and satiric; those 
best known being the March to 
Finchley , Marriage d la Mode, and 
the Rate's Progress. These, and his w,lhara 
other pictures, all highly esteemed, have been often engraved. 
—Died 1764. 

42. Who was Sir Joshua Reynolds ?—He was the greatest of 
English portrait-painters, born 1723. He excelled in style 
and colouring—his pictures being soft and delicate in tone, 


150 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


with, a high intellectual quality. He was the first President of 
the Royal Academy, founded 1768, and delivered Discourses 
on Painting , which, often printed, form a valuable manual 
for young and aspiring artists.—Died 1792. 

43. Mention some noted English painters contemporary 
with Reynolds. —Gainsborough, a painter of portraits, also of 
cottage-doors and other rural scenes—died 1788 ; Benjamin 
West, a historical painter—died 1820; and John Opie—died 
1807. One of the greatest of Reynolds’s successors in portrait 
painting was Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769—1830). 

44. Who are the Landseers ? —They are a family of artists 
—the father, John Landseer, an engraver (died in his 83d 
year, 1852), and three sons; Thomas, engraver ; Charles, 
a painter; and Sir Edwin, celebrated for his numerous fine 
paintings of deer and other animals. 

45. Mention some other noted English painters of the present 
day. —Turner, famed for landscapes (deceased); Stanfield, 
celebrated for sea-pieces; Ward, eminent as a historical 
painter; Mulready, famed for his pictures representing do¬ 
mestic and familiar subjects ; Erith, noted for his success in 
pieces representing a multitude of figures; and Cooper, painter 
of cattle-pieces, &c. 

46. Who was the earliest Scottish painter ? —The first native 
painter in Scotland was George Jamesone, born in Aberdeen 
about 1586; after studying under Rubens at Antwerp, he 
attained eminence as a portrait painter in his native country. 
Died at Edinburgh, 1644. 

47. When did a school of painters arise in Scotland '?—In the 
18tli century, through the instruc¬ 
tions given by an institution called 
the 1 Board of Trustees/ established 
to encourage different departments 
of art. Latterly, the fine arts in 
Scotland have been promoted by 
the Royal Scottish Academy. 

48. Mention some distinguished 
Scottish painters. —Alexander Na¬ 
smyth (1758—1840), a distinguished 
landscape painter; Sir David Wilkie 
(1785—1841), inimitable in his 
domestic scenes; Sir Henry Rae¬ 
burn (1756—1823), a portrait 
painter, whose works are remarkable for their delicacy and 
richness of colour; Rev. John Thomson (1778—1840), land¬ 
scape painter; and David Roberts (1796—1864), celebrated 





THE FINE ARTS. 


151 


for his grand architectural pieces ; for most part of his life, 
however, Roberts pursued his profession in London. Besides 
these, Scotland has lately produced a host of painters—John 
Phillip, Thomas Faed, Horatio MacCulloch, Noel Paton, 
George Harvey, &c.—well known in the higher branches of art. 

49. What are 1 gallery pictures V —They are paintings of a 
large size, adapted for public galleries, and are so called to 
distinguish them from ‘ cabinet pictures/ or those of a small 
size suited for ordinary apartments. 

50. What is meant by ‘kit-cat 7 pictures ? —The term hit-cat 
is applied to portraits on canvas measuring about 23 inches 
broad by 36 inches in depth ; it originated in the fact of Sir 
Godfrey Kneller, a painter in the early part of the 18th cen¬ 
tury, having executed portraits that size of members of the 
Kit-cat Club. This club took its name from Kit (or Christo¬ 
pher) Cat, in whose tavern it held its meetings. 

51. What are 1 genre 7 pictures ?—The French word genre 
signifies ‘ kind/ and is employed to designate pictures of some 
special variety. The best known genre pictures are those 
with figures having a certain moral aim—pictures, in fact, 
which tell a story, but do not attain the character of being 
historical. For example, the chief productions of Hogarth, 
Greuze, Wilkie, and Mulready are genre pictures. 

52. What are ‘ Pre-Raphaelite 7 pictures ? —They are pictures 
by certain painters who believe that they adhere to the prin¬ 
ciples which they conceive to have guided the art that prevailed 
previous to Raphael. Such pictures are usually characterised 
by considerable attention to minutiae. 

53. What is meant by the ‘ aureola 7 in art ? —The aureola 
is a halo of light or glory depicted around divine persons ; 
the term is from aurum, Latin for gold. When the aureola 
is limited to the head, it is styled a nimbus , Latin for a cloud. 
The nimbus is sometimes in the form of a ring. These symbols 
were originally pagan, and introduced into Christian art by 
the Byzantine painters. 

54. What is i Fresco 7 painting ?—The Italian word fresco 
signifies * fresh or cool/ and is applied to painting on freshly- 
laid plaster. The painting is in water-colours, which become 
incorporated with the moist plaster, and produce a vivid and 
permanent effect. Fresco painting has lately been adopted 
with success by W. Dyce (deceased), Maclise, and Herbert, in 
adorning the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, with 
subjects of historical interest. 

55. What is ‘Photography V —It is a process of recent origin 


152 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


(in which the sun’s light and certain chemicals are employed), 
for the purpose of producing pictorial representations, chiefly 
small likenesses. The term is from the Greek phos, light, 
and graplio, I write. To M. Daguerre, a French painter (died 
1851), the honour is chiefly due of having been concerned in 
bringing the process into practical use about 1839. 

56. What is the date of the oldest painted glass-windows in 
Europe? —The oldest existing coloured glass-windows are 
found in certain churches in Germany and France, and date 
from the 10th to the 12th centuries. Some in England are as 
old as the 14th century. The art of staining glass for church 
windows has lately undergone great improvement as respects 
colour, drawing, and mechanical details. 

Sculpture, &c. 

5 7. What are the Plastic arts ? —The term plastic is from 
a Greek word signifying ‘ to form,’ and is applied to sculpture, 
pottery, and other arts by which rude masses of matter are 
fashioned into shape. 

58. In what manner is sculpture practised ? —Its higher 
department consists in carving marble or some other kind of 
stone into forms imitative of the human figure. Usually, as 
a guide, the artist first forms a model in clay of the required 
figure, and copies it with his chisel. 

59. Is sculpture an ancient art ?— Yes; it was practised in 
ancient times by the Assyrians, Egyptians, Etrurians, Greeks, 
and Romans, specimens of whose sculptures are preserved in 
museums. 

60. By uhom was sculpture carried to a high degree of perfec¬ 
tion ? —By the Greeks, who are admitted to have excelled all 
other nations in ancient and modern times. 

61. To what special circumstance has the superiority of Greek 
sculpture been ascribed ? —It is thought to have been greatly 
promoted by the frequent public exercises and games, which 
were calculated to develop the best proportions in the human 
form ; also to a high sentiment of veneration for the gods, and 
the wish to represent them in the highest style of art—hence 
the elegant sculptures of gods and goddesses in marble, to 
place in groves and temples. 

62. What is the ‘ideal’ in art? —The ‘ideal’ is that perfec¬ 
tion which exists only in the imagination. The ordinary 
human figure being more or less imperfect, sculptors, in 
forming figures of gods or goddesses, endeavoured to avoid 



THE FIXE ARTS. 153 

every mortal blemish, and to give expression to the highest 
conceptions of grace and dignity. 

63. Has the ‘ideal ’ of beauty , then, no actual counterpart in 
nature ? —It has not; and yet, by its harmony and chasteness 
of design, it pleases the eye, and excites agreeable emotions. 
The ideal is therefore the poetry of art, and it was in this 
lofty quality that the Greek sculptors had no rivals. 

64. When did Greek sculpture attain a perfect condition ? — 
In the time of Pericles, a ruler of Athens, and great patron of 
art, about 440 b. c. He employed Phidias to embellish 
Athens ; and in the works of that artist sculpture attained 
to the sublime in execution. Phidias has been called the 
‘ sculptor of the gods.’ 

65. What were the grandest icorks of Phidias The Olym¬ 
pian Zeus or Jupiter, at Elis ; and the Athene or Minerva, in 
the Parthenon at Athens. The nude parts of both figures 
were in ivory, the draperies of solid gold, and the eyes were 
precious stones. These figures are believed to have been the 
grandest ever produced by the art of sculpture. Phidias died 
about 432 b.c. 

66. What is sculpture in ‘ bas-relief ? ’—It is sculpture raised 
in relief to a moderate degree on a flat surface ; when the 
sculpture is raised so as to project boldly it is called alto-relievo 
(Italian for ‘ high-relief ’). Sculpture in alto-relievo was 
brought to perfection by Phidias. 



Portion of Elgin Marbles. 


67. What are the Elgin Marbles ?—They are a collection of 
ancient sculptures, chiefly from the Acropolis at Athens, 








154 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


■where, about 1801, they were obtained at great cost and 
trouble by Thomas, seventh Earl of Elgin, and transferred to 
England. They were purchased by government in 1816, and 
are now in the British Museum. 

68. Describe the Elgin marbles— Those most appreciated are 
slabs of marble with figures in relief, which constituted 
the frieze of the cella of the Parthenon, and fifteen of the 
metopes representing the battle of the Centaurs and Lapithse. 
The figures, mostly equestrian, represent a grand festive pro¬ 
cession in honour of Minerva, which took place once in five 
years. This series of sculptures was executed by Phidias, and 
by others under his direction. Casts of the marbles are well 
known to students of art. 

69. What is the Apollo Belvidere ? —It is a celebrated Greek 
statue of Apollo, which, after being lost for ages, was dis¬ 
covered in 1503 ; it takes its present name from being placed 
in the Belvidere Gallery of the Vatican. The figure, upwards 
of 7 feet in height, is regarded as embodying the highest ideal 
of manly beauty. 

70. What is the Venus de' Medici ? —It is a statue of Venus, 
executed by an unknown Greek sculptor, which was found in 
the ruins of Hadrian’s villa at Tivoli, and after being placed 
in the gardens of the Medici at Rome, was transferred to a 
collection of sculpture at Florence, 1695. The figure is small 
—only about 4 feet 11 inches high ; but it is greatly prized 
as an ideal of female beauty. 

71. Mention other two celebrated Greek sculptures— The 
Laocoon, in the Vatican, and the Dying Gladiator , in the 
museum of the capitol at Rome. 

72. Who was Praxiteles ? —He was an eminent Greek sculp¬ 
tor, who flourished about 360 b. c. Under him and his con¬ 
temporary Lysippus, sculpture was in its highest perfection 
in point of execution, but their conceptions were less chaste 
and noble than those of Phidias. 

73. What was the character of Roman sculpture ? —It was 
much inferior to that of Greece ; but it was cultivated to some 
extent under Augustus and immediately succeeding emperors. 
Many of the finest sculptures of Greece were brought to Rome, 
where a number have been excavated from ruins. 

74. When did sculpture revive in Italy ? —It experienced a 
revival at the beginning of the 15th century, when a number 
of artists arose. One of these was Lorenzo Ghiberti, a Floren¬ 
tine, who flourished between 1420 and 1450. 



THE PINE ARTS. 


155 


75 * Mention a great work of Ghiberti. —Two of the large bronze 
doors of the Baptistery in the cathedral at Florence. Each 
door is in two leaves—the whole divided into square panels, 
embellished with scriptural subjects in relief. The execution 
of the first door occupied twenty-three years. Casts of these 
‘ Ghiberti gates/ as they are called, are in the Crystal Palace 
at Sydenham. 

76. Who was Benvenuto Cellini ? —He was an eminent 
Italian sculptor, born at Florence 1500; he was particularly 
celebrated for Iris skill in embossing shields with classic figures. 
—Died 1570. 

77. Who was Canova? —Antonio Canova was a recent 
Italian sculptor, born 1757, and noted for his many fine 
figures in the ancient Greek style. He practised his art at 
Borne.—Died 1822. 

78. Who was Flaxman? —John Flaxman was an English 
sculptor of eminence, born at York 1755. He pursued his 
profession in London, where, as Professor of Sculpture to the 
Royal Academy, he delivered a series of valuable lectures on 
art.—Died 1826. 

79. Who ivas Thorwaldsen ?—Bertel (or Albert) Thor- 
waldsen was an eminent Danish sculptor, born at Copenhagen, 
1770. His principal works were executed in Rome. The 
best known of his productions is a magnificent frieze of 
great length, representing the Triumphant Entry of Alexander 



into Babylon , executed to the order of Napoleon 1812, as a 
decoration for an imperial residence at Rome.—Died 1843. 

80. What is the Ceramic art?—It is the department of the 
plastic arts which is concerned with fashioning objects in clay 




156 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


—the art of the potter ; the term ceramic is from the Greek 
word keramos, ‘ potter’s clay.’ 

81. By whom was the ceramic art highly cultivated in ancient 
times ? —The art was "brought to great perfection by the 
Etruscans or Tusci, an ingenious people who inhabited 
Etruria, or the part of Italy now called Tuscany. The 
Etruscans were at the height of artistic glory about 700 B. c., 
when the Roman nation was only beginning. 

82. IVhat is Majolica ? —It is a term applied to a certain 
kind of pottery, coarse, but highly coloured and glazed, which 
was introduced into Italy from Majorca about the 12th century, 
and was the manufacture of the Moors. 

83. When was the ceramic art revived in Italy? —It was 
revived from about 1520 to 1560, chiefly by adopting the 
classical figures of Raphael, Julio Romano, and other emi¬ 
nent artists. Italian pottery of this period is now highly 
valued. 

84. IVho was Palissy ?—Bernard Palissy was a French potter, 
born about 1510, who became famous for his glass paintings 
and beautifully-figured pottery. For a time, he carried on his 
art under royal protection at the Tuileries, where some of his 
furnaces have lately been discovered.—Died 1590. 

85. What is the Portland vase ? —It is an ancient cinerary 
urn, of transparent dark-blue glass, which was found near 
Rome about the middle of the 
16th century; it was at first depo¬ 
sited in the Barberini Palace, but 
was subsequently transferred to 
England in 1770, and was pur¬ 
chased by the Duchess of Portland 
for eighteen hundred guineas. 

Hence, it has been called the 
Portland vase. 

86. Where is now the Portland 
vase ?— It was deposited in the 
British Museum, 1810, where it 
remains, but is not now shewn to 
the public, in consequence of a 
person having mischievously broken 
it with a stone (1845). The vase, 
however, has been neatly repaired. 

87. Who was Josiah Wedge- 
wood ? — He was an eminent 
English potter, bom 1730, who in 









THE FINE ARTS. 157 

the ceramic art in England. After an honourable and useful 
career, he died 1795. 

88. What is engraving ? —There are several kinds of engrav¬ 
ing designed to represent pictures. Engraving on copper or 
steel plates consists in cutting lines on the metal—which lines 
being filled with ink (and the surface of the plate wiped clean), 
yield impressions on paper. This is called engraving in 
intaglio, an Italian term signifying ( to cut or carve in.’ 

89. What is etching ? —It is a particular kind of engraving, 
in which an acid is employed to eat out or corrode lines in 
the metal plate. 

90. What is wood-engraving ?■ —It consists in cutting figures 
in relief on the surface of a smooth piece of boxwood, which 
figures, when inked (all the ether parts of the surface being 
cut away), produce impressions on paper in the manner of a 
type. 

91. Is wood-engraving of old date? —Yes; it began to be 
practised in Germany and other countries about 1400, or 
30 to 40 years before the invention of printing. It was at 
first used for the purpose of stamping or printing playing- 
cards and figures illustrative of Scripture subjects. 

92. When were playing-cards invented ? —Cards are of ancient 
date in India and China, but differing from those now in use. 
The present kind of playing-cards became known in Italy in 
1379, and soon afterwards spread over Europe. 

93. What was the 1 Biblia Pauperum ?'—It was a species of 
Bible composed of pictures from wood-engravings, printed for 
the use of those who could not read. The name, Biblia 
Pauperum, signifies 4 Bible for the Poor.’ These picture-bibles 
were perhaps the very first books that were printed. Some 
are still preserved as curiosities. 

94. Who was Thomas Bewick ?—He was a celebrated wood- 
engraver at Newcastle-on-Tyne, born 1753, who revived this 
ingenious art, and executed engravings of animals with 
wonderful fidelity. The books on natural history which he 
illustrated are much prized. He died 1828. 

95. Who was Sir Robert Strange? —He was an eminent 
copperplate engraver, born in Orkney 1721. In consequence 
of having engaged in the rebellion of 1745 in Scotland, 
he went to France, where he acquired great fame for his fine 
pictorial engravings. Latterly, he returned to England, was 
knighted by George III., and died 1792. Strange’s engravings 
of pictures by the great masters are now highly valued. 


158 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


Architecture. 


96. Wliat is Architecture ? —It is the art of building, and i3 
of various kinds—such as civil, military, and ecclesiastical. 

97. Is architecture an ancient art ? —Yes ; it was practised 
by very ancient nations, as is seen by remarkable remains in 
Assyria, Egypt, and elsewhere. 

98. IVhat is meant by ‘ Cyclopean 7 architecture ? —It is 
a name ordinarily applied to walls of great antiquity built of 
huge blocks of stone -without cement, horn a notion that they 
were the work of the fabled Cyclopes, or one-eyed giants, 
mentioned by Homer. 

Cyclopean walls are 
found in various parts | 
of the world, and anti- | 
quaries are at a loss 
to say by whom they - 
were executed. They 
date at least 1000 
years b.c. 

99. From whom did 
the Greeks acquire a 
knowledge of architec¬ 
ture ? —From the As¬ 
syrians and Egyptians, 
on whose forms and 
styles they greatly im¬ 
proved. 

100. Into how many 
styles is Grecian archi¬ 
tecture divided ? —Into 
three—the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Of these the Doric 
is the oldest and most simple, while the Corinthian is the 
most florid and ornamental. 



IONIC CORINTHIAN 

Styles of Architecture. 


101. To what was the cultivation of Greek architecture due ?— 
To the encouragement given to the building of temples for 
the gods, for which this species of architecture was best suited 
—being elegant, formal, massive, and producing a grand 
effect in white marble, of which the buildings were chiefly 
constructed. 

102. When was Greek architecture in perfection ?—From about 
650 to 300 b.c. The most noted of the Greek architects was 
















































THE FINE ARTS. 


15J> 


Phidias, in the age of Pericles ; and the most magnificent of 
his structures was the Parthenon at Athens. 

103. Were the Greeks acquainted with the principle of the Arch ? 
—It is thought that they could not be ignorant of the arch, 
for it was employed by the Egyptians and Assyrians ; but 
they did not practically adopt it. In no Grecian building 
were there any arches. 

104. What were Caryatides ? —They were figures of females 

which, in place of columns, supported entablatures or roofs of 
buildings. They take their name (according to 
Greek tradition) from the women of Caryae, who 
were made captives after the battle of Thermopylae, 
for having sided with the Persians; the story being 
that figures resembling them in costume, styled 
Caryatides , were, as an indignity, introduced 
as columns by Praxiteles and other Athenian 
artists.' * 

105. What was the character of Roman architec¬ 
ture ?—That of Greek models, with Tuscan and 
Composite. It attained to great magnificence in 
the age of Augustus, but degenerated and decayed 
under the lower empire. 

106. Did the Romans adopt the arch in architec¬ 
ture ?—Yes ; they employed it in their bridges, Caryatldes * 
aqueducts, and other structures, and from them the know¬ 
ledge of it was communicated to Western Europe. 

107. Who was Vitruvius ? —He was a celebrated Homan 
writer on architecture, and flourished about 30 b . c . He wrote 
an elaborate work on architecture— De Architecture, —which 
remains an important authority on the subject. 

108. What ivas a Basilica ? —Basilica is the Latin form of 
the Greek Basilike, ‘ belonging to a king ; ’ the term was origi¬ 
nally applied to the court where the king or chief-magistrate 
administered justice. 

109. Describe a Roman basilica. —It consisted of a long hall, 
with side-aisles ; these side-aisles being separated from the 
central space by pillars supporting the roof. At the further 
end, opposite the entrance, was a raised platform, with seats 
for the judges, to accommodate which there was sometimes a 
rounded space projecting from the end, called the apse. 

no. What did the Roman basilicas generally become ?—On 
the introduction of Christianity, they were generally trans¬ 
formed into churches. The apse became the choir or site of 
the altar, and the central open space for the worshippers was 





1-60 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


called the nave, a term taken from navis, Latin for a ship. 
Thus, the rudimentary type of modern cathedrals was the 
Roman basilica, or court of justice. 

hi. What were the kinds of architecture which followed the 
Greek and Roman ?—The Byzantine, Saracenic, Gothic, Renais¬ 
sance, and other kinds, according to national tastes. 

112. Mention a characteristic of Byzantine art— One of its 
main peculiarities was an adaptation to Christian, as opposed 
to heathen, wants; for example, the Byzantine architects, about 
the commencement of the 6th century, began to construct 
churches expressly for Christian worship. These buildings 
are characterised by the use of the dome in their roofs, and by 
splendid mosaic work. 

113. Mention a grand specimen of Byzantine architecture .— 
The church of St Sophia at Constantinople, completed 537 
a. d. St Mark’s, at Venice, a creation of the middle ages, is 
also considered a pure specimen. 

114. Mention a characteristic of Saracenic architecture. —A 
remarkable feature consists in arches resembling a horse-shoe, 
or wider above than below. The Saracenic style is invariably 
used in Mohammedan mosques, and a beautiful example is 
found in the Alham¬ 
bra, the palace-fortress 
of the Moors in 
Granada. 

115. What is Gothic 
architecture ?—Under 
this title are comprised 
the various styles of 
architecture which 
prevailed in Western 
Europe during the 
middle ages till the 
revival of classic 
architecture in the 
16th century. In the 
Gothic was perfected 
the structure of the 
cathedral, which was 
usually shaped like 
a cross. 

116. Describe the parts in a Gothic cathedral ?—The central 
part forming the limb of the cross, was the nave, the projecting 
parts at the sides were the transepts, and the extension of the 
nave beyond the transepts formed the choir or chancel. 


jTk 










THE FINE ARTS. 


161 


117. What was the form of the arch in Gothic architecture ? 
—Till about 1150 the semicircular form (or Norman style) was 
used; thereafter the arch was pointed, but in different 
degrees. The early English Gothic is called the first pointed 
style, of which the most perfect example is Salisbury 
Cathedral, finished about 1260. 

118. Mention a characteristic feature of the Norman variety 
of the Gothic. —The leading feature was the rounded arch. 
From a general misapprehension, this style has sometimes 
been called the Saxon. It is now known that such specimens 
as existed among the Anglo-Saxons, previous to the Conquest, 
were copied from designs in Normandy. 

119. What is Elizabethan architecture ?—It is a mixed style 
which sprung up on the decline of Gothic architecture. It is 
chiefly exemplified in mansions of the nobility erected in the 
reigns of Elizabeth and James I., and is characterised by oriel 
windows, pointed gables, and fanciful spires. The Tudor style 
preceded the Elizabethan. 

120. What was the Renaissance 1 —The French term Renais¬ 
sance signifies a new birth or renewal, and is applied to the re¬ 
vival of art andliterature inltaly and France m the 16th century. 

121. What was characteristic of Renaissance architecture ?— 
A renewal of the Roman or classical style down to the minutest 
details. To the Renaissance may be ascribed the best of our 
modern street-architecture ; for instance, that of Paris. 

122. Who was Palladio ? —He was an eminent Italian archi¬ 
tect (born 1518, died in 1580), who, after studying the works 
of Vitruvius, was largely employed in erecting palaces for the 
nobility at Vicenza, according to the style of the Renaissance. 
What is now called the Italian style of architecture, adopted 
for handsome buildings in cities, is based on the finer com¬ 
positions of Palladio, Alberti, and others. 

123. What is the Scottish style of architecture ? —It is a fanci¬ 
ful style adapted for country mansions, and dates from the 
15 th and 16th centuries ; its characteristics are sharp roofs 
and gables with picturesque flanking turrets ; the style 
evidently marks a transition from the feudal castle to the 
modern family residence. 

124. Who was Inigo Jones ?—He was an eminent English 
architect, who was employed in various undertakings by 
James I. His best known work is the Banqueting House, 
Whitehall. Jones has been called the English Palladio; he 
died at an advanced age, 1653. 

125. Who was Sir Christopher Wren ?—He was the greatest 

K 


162 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


of all the English architects, and was bom in 1632. His 
grandest work was St Paul’s Cathedral, London, begun 1675. 
Wren was, besides, the architect of many of the fine churches 
in London. He died 1723, at the advanced age of 91, and was 
honoured with a public funeral in St Paul’s. 

126. What is the inscription on the tomb of Sir Christopher 
Wren? —It is, Si Monumentum quceris, circumspice —If you 
wish to see his monument, look around. 

127. JVho was Sir William Chambers ? —He was an eminent 
English architect in the 18th century; his best work is Somer¬ 
set House—a noble specimen of modern architecture ; he 
wrote a Treatise on Civil Architecture, which is a text-book on 
the subject.—Died 1796. 

128. Who was John Rennie ? —He was an eminent engineer ; 
bom, the son of a farmer at Phantassie, East Lothian, 
1761. Rennie was particularly distinguished for his grand 
bridges, two of which, across the Thames, were Waterloo 
Bridge, finished 1817, and London Bridge, opened 1831. 
Canova considered Waterloo Bridge to be the finest in the 
world; and M. Dupin calls it ‘ a colossal monument worthy 
of Sesostris and the Caesars.’ Rennie died 1821. 

129. What is a ‘ ground-plan ?’ —It is a horizontal section of 
a building, as it is to be shaped on the ground. The ‘ elevation ’ 
represents the exterior front of a building as it is to appear 
to the eye when completed. 

130. Mention some of the parts of a building ? — Rybats, the 
stones composing the sides of doors and windows ; plinth, the 



square base for a column or wall; architrave, the flat stretch 
of stone immediately over columns, and extending from one 
to another ; the frieze, the flat stone over the architrave ; the 
entablature comprises the architrave, frieze, and cornice ; pedi¬ 
ment, the triangular form over the entablature. The triangular 
space within the pediment is the tympanum. In Greek build¬ 
ings, the tympanum was usually enriched with sculptured 
figures. 

131. Is Grecian architecture adapted for modern liouse-building ? 
—No ; It is too precise and formal, and cannot endure the 
slightest departure from classic models. Hence the intro¬ 
duction of more pliant styles in recent times. 




THE FINE ARTS. 


163 


Music. 

132. Was music known to the ancients ? —Yes; the Egyptians, 
Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans had each a kind of music, 
adapted for the voice, or for stringed and wind instruments. 

133. What musical instruments had the Hebrews ?—We learn 
from the Scriptures that they had trumpets, shawms, harps, 
and cymbals ; the shawm was a wind instrument resembling 
a modern clarionet. 

134. What is the Gregorian Chant ? —It is the name given 
to certain choral melodies introduced into the service of 
the early Christian church by Pope Gregory the Great, who 
flourished towards the end of the 6th century. In this and 
other respects Gregory was the first great improver of church- 
music. 

135. What is the ‘ Dies Irce V —It is a celebrated Latin hymn, 
sung in the services of the Roman Catholic Church, and is 
generally known by the first two words Dies Ira , signifying 
‘ Day of wrath.’ It is of medieval composition, and its author 
is doubtful; though Thomas of Celano (died 1255) has probably 
the best claim to the honour. 

136. Describe the nature of the ‘Dies Irce.’ —It is a hymn or 
poem on the Last Judgment; and on account of the solemn 
grandeur of the ideas which it brings before the mind, and 
emotions it is fitted to excite, it is well adapted for the 
musical part of divine service. 

137. What is the ‘Stabat Mater V —It is a very sublime 
Latin hymn, which is sung in the services of the Roman 
Catholic Church in Holy-Week. The author is unknown, 
but many modern musical composers have employed their 
talents on this beautiful piece. 

138. Why has the hymn ‘Stabat Mater ’ been so called ?— 
Because it begins with these two words— stabat, stood, and 
mater , mother. The following are the first three lines— 

1 Stabat mater dolorosa, 

Juxta crucem lachrymosa, 

Dum pen debat filius’— 

which may be translated, ‘ The afflieted and weeping mother 
stood by the cross on which was hanging her son.’ 

139. Who have been the great musical composers of modern 
times ? —They have been principally Germans—Bach, Handel, 
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, and others. Handel, born 
1684, spent most of his life in England, and was perhaps 


164 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


the greatest of all musical composers ; his most famous com¬ 
positions are Israel in Egypt and the Messiah. —Died 1759. 

140. What is an Oratorio ? —It is a composition of sacred 
music; the term being from the Latin word oratorium , an 
oratory or cell for prayer—the place 
where such sacred compositions 
were originally performed. The 
music consists of recitatives, airs, 
duets, trios, quartetts, and choruses, 
accompanied with instruments. 

Handel’s Israel and Messiah, Men¬ 
delssohn’s Elijah and St Paul, and 
Haydn’s .Creation are the grandest 
specimens of this species of compo¬ 
sition. 

141. What is an Italian ‘ Opera V 
—It is a musical drama—a play 
sung throughout by the actors ; the 
music in such compositions is de¬ 
signed to evoke emotions characteristic of the different parts 
—sorrow, joy, anger, and other sentiments, expressed in 
musical sounds. 

142. What composers are at the head of the Italian opera ?— 
Rossini (born 1792), who wrote Semiramide, Guillaume Tell , 
and II Barbiere di Seviglia; Bellini (died 1835), the composer 
of Norma , I Puritani, and La Sonnambula; and Donizetti 
and Verdi. 

143. Who was Mendelssohn ?—Felix Mendelssohn (born 1809, 
died 1847), was a young German musical composer of great 
eminence; besides his splendid sonatas and concertos, he 
composed some fine tunes for lyrics—the best known of these 
being the air, 0 wert thou in the Gauld Blast, adapted to the 
words of Robert Burns. 

144. Who was Meyerbeer ?—He was an eminent German 
musical composer, born 1794. His best known operas are 
the Huguenots, Robert le Diable, the ProphUe, and UAfricaine. 
—Died 1864. 

145. What is a Pibroch ? —It is a piece played on the 
Highland bagpipe; a pibroch illustrative of a battle is 
supposed to embrace the cries of defiance, the onset, the 
shouts of victory, and the wail for the dead and dying. 

146. What is an ‘ Anthem V —A species of composition 
peculiarly English, and introduced into the church after the 
Reformation. The words are taken from Scripture, and the 
music may be for solo, sol, or chorus, or a combination. The 










THE FINE ARTS. 


165 


term anthem is sometimes loosely applied to the national 
hymn, God Save the Queen. 

147. Who was the author of the English national anthem ?— 
The author of the words of God Save the King (or Queen) was 
Dr Henry Carey, born in London about 1696, and died 1743. 
The composition was in honour of a birthday of George IL 
The words of the anthem have undergone some changes since. 
The music was by Dr John Bull. 

148. What is Rule Britannia ? —It is the name of a noble 
national hymn, the words of which first appeared (1740) in 
the masque of Alfred , the joint production of James Thom¬ 
son, author of The Seasons, and David Mallet. Whether 
Thomson or Mallet was the author, is not quite settled. The 
music is by Dr Arne, an eminent English musical composer 
(died 1778). 

149. What is Yankee Doodle ? —That is the name of an air, 
adopted as a national tune by the United States. The words 
are mere doggrel. Yankee Doodle was composed by Dr 
Shackburg, a physician in the British army in America, about 
1755, and palmed off by him as a celebrated air on a body of 
American militia. 

150. What is the Marseillaise ? —It is a French revolutionary 
song or hymn, the words and music of which were composed 
by Rouget de Lisle, an officer of artillery at Strasbourg, in 
1792. In July that year it was introduced into Paris, when 
the young men of Marseille were summoned to the capital; 
taking its name from them, it became exceedingly popular 
among all classes of revolutionists. 

151. What is the Ranz des Vaches ?—It is the French name 
of a class of wild and simple airs, played on the kuh-liorn, 
and sung by the herdsmen in the Alpine parts of Switzerland, 
in driving the cattle to pasture. 

152. What is meant by 1 national music V —It is that which 
grows up with certain national peculiarities of musical struc¬ 
ture ; thus the Italians, Germans, French, Irish, Scots, and 
Welsh, have each a distinct music. The English, however, 
scarcely possess a music distinguishable by peculiar national 
qualities. 

153. What is the nature of Scottish music ? —It is simple, 
partly plaintive and partly lively, adapted for lyrical composi¬ 
tions, and characterised by the infrequent use of semitones. 
Many of the Scottish airs are several centuries old ; but few of 
their authors are known. With from time to time new words, 
they form a rich national inheritance enjoyed freely by 
successive generations. 


166 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


The British Constitution— 

Jurisprudence. 

1. What is the nature of the British government ?—It is a 
limited monarchy, with a hereditary sovereign, who reigns 
according to certain restrictions prescribed by the constitu¬ 
tion. In its present form, the constitution dates from the 
Kevolution Settlement, 1689. 

2. What is the ‘ Cabinet V —It consists of a number of 
ministers, who are intrusted by the sovereign with the execu¬ 
tive part of the government—the sovereign (whether king or 
queen) ruling only through them and by their advice. All 
executive acts proceed in the name of the sovereign. 

3. What regulates the sovereign in the choice of ministers ?— 
The sovereign selects or employs only such statesmen to act 
as ministers as possess the confidence of the two houses of 
parliament. Usually, the process of selection is left to one 
termed 'prime minister, and no one can long act as prime 
minister who cannot ensure majorities in parliament to carry 
government measures. 

4. Does government , then , rest substantially with the Houses of 
Parliament ? —It does; and chiefly with the House of Commons, 
which originates and finally determines all measures for 
granting supplies of money to carry on public affairs. 

5. What ensues when the prime minister fails to secure 
majorities in voting money bills or other important measures ?— 
Either the ministry must be dismissed, and a new ministry 
appointed, or the sovereign must dissolve the House of Com¬ 
mons, and cause a new one to be elected. 

6. What is the Privy Council ?—It is an assembly of advisers 
on matters of state appointed by the sovereign, and is com¬ 
posed principally of the cabinet ministers, along with certain 
judges, members of the nobility, and commoners. Immedi¬ 
ately on the decease of the sovereign, the Privy Council 
proclaims the successor. 

7. TVhat are 1 orders in council V —They are orders having 
the effect of law, which the Privy Council is authorised by 
statutes to issue in cases of national emergency. 

8. What is the Nobility ?—The nobility and peerage are a 
body of individuals raised by rank, dignity, and title above 
the mass of the people or commoners. 

9. In whom lies the right of creating peers ? —The right of 








THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION—JURISPRUDENCE. 167 

creating peers is in the sovereign, who is ‘the fountain of 
honour ’ in the constitution ; hut in this, as in other matters, 
the sovereign acts only by the advice of the ministry. 

10. On what ground are 'persons raised to the peerage ? —They 
are raised to the peerage for distinguished public services. 
The aristocracy, therefore, is constantly receiving accessions 
from the people, while the people are as constantly absorbing 
back into their ranks the junior branches of the nobility 
and their descendants. 

11. Sow many rarilcs are there in the peerage ?— Five; 
namely, Baron, Viscount, Earl, Marquis, and Duke, which is 
the highest. Peers are raised from lower to higher ranks— 
still, however, retaining the lower titles and dignities. 

12. Is the peerage hereditary ? —Yes ; rank and title, along 
with family landed possessions, are inherited by the eldest 
surviving son according to the rule of primogeniture—a term 
equivalent to c first born’—unless there be some special pro¬ 
vision to the contrary. 

13. Mention an effect of primogeniture ?—One of its effects is 
to give great stability to certain families of wealth and distinc¬ 
tion, who from generation to generation impart the quality 
of steadiness and permanence to the national institutions. 

14. Do the younger children of a peer enjoy titles by inherit¬ 
ance ?—They do not ; in law, they are commoners ; but 
usually they enjoy certain titles by courtesy. Thus, the 
oldest son of a duke is called by his father’s second title, until 
he succeeds to the family honours, and the other sons are 
called Lords by courtesy. 

15. What are the national distinctions in the peerage ? —There 
are English, Scotch, and Irish peers, also peers of Great Britain, 
and peers of the United Kingdom. These distinctions arise 
out of. historical circumstances, and have no relation to place 
of birth; for example, an Englishman or Scotsman may be an 
Irish peer, and an Irishman may be a peer of Great Britain. 

16. Save these various peers equal parliamentary privileges ?— 
No; English peers, and peers of Great Britain and of the United 
Kingdom have a seat in the House of Lords. The Scots peers 
elect sixteen of their number to the House of Lords; and 
a new election of them takes place every parliament. The 
Irish peers, elect twenty-eight of their number to the House 
of Lords, and they sit for life. 

17. Can peers be representatives in the Souse of Commons? 
—Only members of the peerage of Ireland can be so ; besides 
being represented in the Lords, they can be representatives 


168 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


for English boroughs or counties in the Commons. For 
example, Lord Palmerston, who belonged to the peerage of 
Ireland, sat in the Commons for an English borough. Sons 
of noblemen with courtesy titles are eligible as members of 
the House of Commons. 

18. What is the number of members in the House of Commons T 
—The number is 658, who are partly elected by counties and 
partly by boroughs ; several are also elected by universities. 
No one can vote at elections unless his name has been pre¬ 
viously placed on a public register. 

19. What is the duration of parliament ? —The existence of a 
parliament is limited to seven years ; but few parliaments last 
so long. A session of parliament is the period it sits annually, 
and ordinarily extends from February till July. 

20. What is the number of members in the House of Lords ?— 
The number is at present 454, consisting of certain royal 
princes, peers who enjoy the right by heritage, the Scotch and 
Irish representative peers, and certain lords spiritual. 

21. Are there not* several Scots peers in the House of Lords , 
besides the sixteen representative peers ? —Yes ; but only because 
they are at the same time peers of England, Great Britain, or 
the United Kingdom. For example, the Duke of Buccleuch sits 
in the Lords as Earl of Doncaster, in the peerage of England. 

22. What are lords spiritual ? —They are the archbishops 
and bishops of the church of England and Ireland. These 
may be described as an elective nobility, though they are not 
absolutely peers. 

23. What is the number of lords spiritual in the House of 
Lords ? —The number is 30, consisting of 2 English archbishops, 
24 English bishops, 1 representative Irish archbishop, and 3 
representative Irish bishops. The Bishop of Sodor and Man 
has no seat in the House of Lords, not being reckoned one of 
the English bishops. 

24. Why is the Bishop of the Isle of Man called ( Bishop of Sodor 
and Man V —The term Sodor is an abbreviation of Sodorenses f 
the Latinised form of Sudoreys, the bishopric of which was once 
associated with that of Man. These Sudoreys were the Hebrides, 
or Southern Islands—so called to distinguish them from the 
Orkney or Northern Islands. As the Hebrides are now included 
in the ecclesiastical system of Scotland, the term Sodor, as far 
as regards its original meaning, is merely titular. 

25. Who act as chairmen in the Houses of Parliament ? —The 
Lord Chancellor (who by present usage must have been a dis¬ 
tinguished lawyer) presides in the House of Lords. The 


THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION—JURISPRUDENCE. 16^ 


House of Commons elects one of its members to preside, and 
lie is styled ‘ the Speaker.’ 

26. What is meant by the 1 woolsack?’ —The woolsack is the 
seat of the Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords; it consists 
of a large bag of wool covered with red cloth, but though 
fashioned like a seat, is without back or arms. The woolsack 
is said to have had its origin in the circumstance of wool being 
anciently a staple article of produce in England. 

27. Ho to does a 'proposed measure become law ? —The measure 
is first in the form of a ‘ bill,’ which must pass or be sanc¬ 
tioned by the two Houses of Parliament, and also receive the 
royal assent, before it becomes law. When so passed and 
assented to, the measure is called ‘ an Act of Parliament,’ or 
statute. 

28. What are the means provided by the constitution for a 
redress of grievances ? —The constitution gives the right of 
petitioning parliament for the abolition or amendment of 
any objectionable law—which right includes the important 
privilege of assembling peacefully to consider and draw up 
the petition. This is deemed one of the great bulwarks 
of civil liberty in the British dominions. 

29. Does government interfere in elections ? —No ; govern¬ 
ment, and all government officials whatsoever, usually abstain 
from interfering in elections, by which great liberty of action 
ensues. This is one of the most estimable points in the 
constitution. Government similarly abstains from attempts 
to regulate public opinion on matters of general policy—a 
circumstance which contrasts favourably with the practices 
that prevail in some continental countries. 

30. Is monarchy esteemed as a national institution? —It is 
exceedingly so, for several considerations—1. Its great anti¬ 
quity and identification with national 
traditions; 2. A knowledge of the 
disasters and contentions which en- 

, sued on its temporary overthrow in 
1649 ; 3. A belief that, as now con¬ 
stitutionally established, it is best 
adapted to secure public liberty, along 
with exemption from the exasperations 
and conflicts of party ; and, 4. A deep- 
seated sentiment of loyalty and affec¬ 
tionate regard for the sovereign who now occupies the throne. 

31. What is a ‘Coronation?’ —It is a ceremony in which 
the sovereign is solemnly invested with a crown, significant 
of royal dignity and authority. 




170 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


32. How is the term, ‘ the crown,' figuratively employed ? —Tlie 
term is often used to signify the royal authority. Thus, people 
speak of ‘ crown lawyers’—meaning lawyers who act for the 
sovereign—and also of ‘ appointments by the crown.’ 

33. What is the scale of precedence ? —It is a scale estab¬ 
lished by statutes and ancient usage determining the social 
position of every individual from the sovereign downwards— 
an arrangement by which all contests as to precedence are 
avoided on the occasion of state or public ceremonials. The 
number of ranks in the scale of precedence is upwards of a 
hundred ; in this scale wealth is not reckoned. 

34. Who are entitled to the distinction of Esquire ? —The sons 
of the nobility and their eldest sons, the eldest sons of knights 
and their eldest sons, judges, justices of peace, commissioned 
officers, barristers, persons so styled in writs of the crown, and 
some others. ‘Esquire’ has latterly been so much abused that 
it has lost its distinctive value. The term is from the French 
1 escuyer, a shield-bearer (Lat. scutum, a shield), and was applied 
to the armour-bearer of a knight. 

35. What is the constitution of the Church of England ?— 
It is a Protestant Episcopacy, comprehending three orders 
of clergy—bishops, priests, and deacons ; the whole under 
the Queen as ‘ head of the church.’ The Archbishop of 
Canterbury is styled Primate of all England, and has the 
privilege of placing the crown on the head of the sovereign 
at coronations. 

36. How is the Church of England supported ?—It is estab¬ 
lished by law as the religion of the state, and is supported by 
a variety of endowments, for the most part of old date. 

37. What is a ( cong$ d'elire V —It is an old French phrase, 
signifying ‘ leave or permission to elect.’ It is the name given 
in England to a warrant from the sovereign, permitting the 
dean and chapter of a cathedral to elect a bishop to a vacant 
see. The conge cl'elire, however, is accompanied with a missive, 
pointing out who should be elected, which it is illegal to 
disregard. 

38. What is ‘ Convocation ,’ as applied to the Church of 
England ? —Convocation is the name given to an assembly 
of the clergy, which occasionally meets to discuss ecclesiastical 
questions. This meeting, however, possesses no power of 
legislation; for the church is entirely regulated by parliament, 
while its discipline belongs to a class of tribunals called the 
ecclesiastical courts. 

39. What is meant by ‘ Holy Orders V —It is a phrase in 






THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION—JURISPRUDENCE. 171 

use among members of the Church of Rome and Church 
of England, and denotes entrance into the order of the priest¬ 
hood. Holy orders are conferred by a solemn act of ordination 
by bishops, and invest the recipient with a sacred character 
distinctly apart from the laity. 

40. Is the sacred character of Holy Orders indelible ? —It is so 
in ordinary circumstances. In the Church of Rome, the pope 
has the power of removing the sacred character of a priest 
and restoring him to the laity ; in the Church of England, an 
act of parliament would be required to do so. Accordingly, 
persons who have entered holy orders in England are in 
point of law ineligible for various civil offices, including that 
of a representative in the House of Commons. 

41. What is meant by ‘ benefit of clergy V —It is an expres¬ 
sion referring to a former state of the law in England, when a 
clergyman had the benefit of being exempted from prosecution 
for alleged crimes and offences before any civil tribunal. In 
course of time, laymen who could read claimed and were 
allowed the like privilege. ‘Benefit of clergy’ was finally 
abolished in the reign of George IV. 

42. What is the constitution of the Church of Scotland ? —It is 
a Protestant Presbyterianism, established in place of Episco¬ 
pacy in 1690 ; but with certain modifications, it was the form 
of Protestantism instituted at the Reformation in Scotland. 
Its ministers are equal in rank, and are assisted in maintaining 
church-discipline by lay-elders. 

43. How is the Church of Scotland supported ?—It is, like the 
Church of England, maintained by endowments, mostly of old 
date—certain landowners in each parish being under a legal 
obligation to pay a specified stipend to the minister out of 
church-property in their possession. 

44. What is the General Assembly ? —It is the highest 
church-court in Scotland, composed of a certain number of 
representative ministers and elders, and meets once a year in 
Edinburgh. The crown appoints a president, called a Royal 
Commissioner, but he takes no part in the proceedings ; the 
acting president is one of the representative ministers, elected 
by votes of the members, and styled Moderator. 

45. What are Dissenters % —They are bodies of Christians 
who dissent from the form of government and doctrines of 
an Established Church. All dissenters, of whatever denomina¬ 
tion, enjoy entire freedom of opinion, and conduct divine 
service according to the forms of which they approve. 


172 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


46. What are Seceders ? —They are certain religious bodies 
in Scotland who have seceded or separated from the Estab¬ 
lished Church, and are legally in the position of dissenters. 
The chief seceding body is the United Presbyterian, which 
has been formed by the amalgamation of different sects at 
different times. The Free Church, constituted in 1843, declines 
in theory to consider itself a ‘seceding’ body—designating the 
event of 1843 not a secession but a disruption. 

47. What is Erastianism ?— It is a term of reproach, signi¬ 
fying the condition of a church which is under the control of 
the state. It is derived from Thomas Erastus, a learned Swiss 
theologian (died 1583), whose writings on this subject, how¬ 
ever, have been greatly misapprehended. 

48. What is international law ? —It is a generally under¬ 
stood body of principles which regulate the intercourse 
between different states, and have been expounded by various 
writers. 

49. Mention some authorities on international law. —Puffen- 
dorf, Grotius, and Yattel are the principal; Yattel, a native 
of Neufchatel (died 1767) is the chief authority; his famed 
work on the subject is his Droit des Gens (Law of Nations). 

50. What is a ‘ casus belli V —It is an act of hostility on the 
part of one nation against another, sufficient to give occasion 
for a proclamation of war. 

51. What are belligerents ? —They are states which are 
carrying on war against each other, according to the ordinary 
recognised principles of warfare ; the term is from the Latin 
belligero, I wage war. 

52. What is the right of blockade ? —It is a right possessed 
by each belligerent to close the ports of the enemy against 
traffic with neutral powers ; but to be effectual, the ports 
must be actually closed and guarded by war-vessels, not 
merely declared to be so. 

53. What is 1 contraband of war V —It consists of warlike 
materials supplied by neutrals to a belligerent, contrary to 
the conditions which should regulate national intercourse in 
a time of war. 

54. What are 'prisoners of war ? —They are soldiers and others 
taken captive in war ; according to civilised usages, the lives 
of prisoners of war are spared on surrendering, and the cap¬ 
tives are restored to liberty on the occurrence of peace. 

55. What is 1 martial law V —It is the law of military force, 
which is brought into operation when, for some reason, the 
civil law is suspended. A town in such a state of riotous 


THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION—JURISPRUDENCE. 173 

disorder as to be beyond tbe control of tbe civil authorities, 
may be legally placed for a time under martial law. 

56. What was the Roman civil law ? —It was a great body 
of Roman laws affecting rights and relationships among indi¬ 
viduals, which was digested into a code by Justinian about the 
middle of the 6th century. 1 

5 7. In what language was the code of Justinian drawn up ?— 
The whole was written in Latin, and now forms a huge volume, 
under the title Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law). After 
being lost during the commotions of the middle ages, a 
solitary copy of this great digest was found at Amalfi, in Italy, 
1137, and was forthwith studied by modem nations. 

5 8. Did many modern nations embrace the Roman civil law ? 
—Yes ; it became the basis of municipal law in most European 
countries—some adopting it more than others. 

59. Have continental nations adhered to the Roman law ?— 
They have done so only to a limited extent. It has been 
generally superseded by an entirely new digest, called the 
Code Napoleon, framed by orders of Napoleon Bonaparte, 
between 1803 and 1808. A number of the provisions of the 
Code Napoleon, however, are drawn from the Roman law. 

60. What was the ‘ Canon Law V —It was a body of laws 
and regulations affecting the Roman Catholic Church, and 
originated in ecclesiastical decrees from the beginning of the 
4th to the end of the 12th century. 

61 .Of what did the canon law treat ?—It treated of benefices, 
the lives and conversation of clergymen, matrimony, divorces, 
and other matters falling within the scope of church-discipline. 

62. Is the Canon Law still in operation? —Yes; in Roman 
Catholic countries, though modified by modem legislation, 
and by ‘ concordats ’ or agreements with the pope. 

63. What hind of law prevails in the United Kingdom ? —It 
is law of a very miscellaneous kind ; England and Ireland 
have nearly one species of law, and Scotland has another ; but 
a number of statutes apply to the three countries. 

64. Explain the nature of the English law. —It consists 
mainly of statutes passed from time to time by the legislature, 
and of what is called ‘ common law’—that is, certain rules of 
old standing, as expounded by legal authorities. But to these 
two varieties is added a species of canon law, drawn from the 
ancient ecclesiastical law in use before the Reformation. 


1 See Historical Questions , p. 62 . 


174 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


65. We hear of ‘law and equity ;’ what is meant by 1 equity V 
—By 1 equity’ is signified those principles of justice which 
{ire not reached by any statute or rule of common law, and 
require to be dealt with separately. For this branch of 
jurisprudence there are special courts in England. 

66. Mention two of the principal law-courts in England .— 
The Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of Queen’s (or 
King’s) Bench. 

67. What are the Equity Courts in England ? —The Lord 
Chancellor’s Court, the Master of the Bolls’ Court, and the 
Courts of the three Vice-Chancellors. 

68. What is meant by ( oyer and terminer V—Oyer and ter¬ 
miner are words from the French, signifying ‘to hear and 
determinethe phrase is usually applied to certain special 
courts held for the purpose of trying persons accused of sedi¬ 
tious and treasonable practices ; but all commissions from the 
crown to judges to hold courts of justice are, strictly speaking, 
of the nature of f oyer and terminer.’ 

69. Who was Sir Thomas Littleton ?—He was one of the 
judges of the Court of Common Pleas, 1466, and was cele¬ 
brated as the author of a work on Tenures , useful for lawyers. 

70. Who was Sir Edward Coke ?— He was an eminent lawyer 
in the reigns of James I. and Charles I., who filled the office 
of Chief-Justice of the Court of King’s Bench ; he is remem¬ 
bered as the author of a minute and laborious Commentary on 
the work of Sir Thomas Littleton, usually styled Coke upon 
Littleton , which remains a leading authority on English law. 

71. Who was Sir William Blaclcstone? —He was a learned 
judge in the Court of Common Pleas, who died 1780. 
Blackstone is best known for his Commentaries on the Laws of 
England, a work first published in 1765, which, from its taste¬ 
ful and popular style, has been often reprinted. 

72. What law prevails in the British colonies ?—Where the 
colonies are of British origin, the law and legal usages of 
England prevail. Where the colonies or dependencies are of 
foreign origin, the law of the original settlers is, by stipu¬ 
lation, for the most part maintained. For example, in the 
Cape of Good Hope, which was originally a Dutch colony, 
the old Dutch (or Koman civil) law prevails. 

73. What law prevails in India ? —Several kinds of law are 
maintained in that great dependency, in order to suit the 
habits and usages of a mixed population. For the aboriginal 
Hindus there is the Hindu law; for the Mohammedans, the 


THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION—JURISPRUDENCE. 175 

law of the Koran ; and for British settlers, the law of England. 
Judges are appointed to administer these diverse laws. 

74. What law prevails in Scotland The old Roman civil 
law, modified by modern statutes, and a common law of native 
growth. 

75. Mention a work in which the law of Scotland is embodied . 
—The best known work on the subject is Erskine’s Principles 
of the Law of Scotland , published in 1754, which remains a 
valuable text-book. 

76. What is the supreme civil court in Scotland ?— It is the 
Court of Session, which comprehends jurisdiction in cases of 
equity as well as law. 

77. What is. the supreme court of appeal in the United 
Kingdom ?■ —It is the House of Lords, to which cases may be 
appealed for decision from the chief civil courts in England,. 
Ireland, and Scotland. The Judicial Committee of the 
Privy Council forms a court of appeal from the colonies and 
dependencies. 

78. Who appoints the judges in the different courts throughout 
the United Kingdom ?■ —Excepting as concerns certain ‘ duchies 
palatine/ all judges are appointed by the crown, and hold office 
for life. 

79* What is a 1 duchy palatine V —It is a division of country 
formerly under the distinct government of a duke or other 
powerful feudal lord. The duchy of Lancaster is an example. 

80. When was the duchy of Cornwall created ? —It was created 
in 1377, in favour of Edward the Black Prince, and by act of 
parliament, remains under the jurisdiction of the Prince of 
Wales, as hereditary Duke of Cornwall, who appoints the 
judges in the duchy, and draws from it certain revenues. 

81. What is the legal position of the duchy of Lancaster ?— 
That duchy was forfeited to the crown in the reign of 
Edward IV. The crown now appoints a Chancellor to the 
duchy as a removable minister, by whom an attorney- 
general, and other functionaries are nominated, with equity 
jurisdiction. 

82. What is ‘ trial by jury V —It is the trial of alleged 
criminals by a jury or body of individuals impartially selected, 
according to prescribed forms, from the community. The 
duty of the jury consists in determining whether the facts 
charged against a prisoner are proved. 

83. Is trial by jury of ancient origin ? —Yes ; it is an Anglo- 
Saxon institution, and forms, an important safeguard against 
arbitrary authority. 


176 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


84. Is trial by jury conducted uniformly in the United King¬ 
dom ? —No ; in England and Ireland, a jury on a criminal case 
consists of 12 individuals, who must be unanimous in their 
decisions. In Scotland, the jury consists of 15, a majority of 
whom decides. 

85. What is the 1 grand jury V —It is a body of individuals 
summoned by sheriffs in different localities to determine 
whether cases of alleged crime may be brought to trial. The 
institution of grand jury, however, does not exist in Scotland, 
where its duties as respects criminal charges are performed by 
a public prosecutor, styled Lord Advocate, who is assisted by 
various ‘ Deputes.’ 

86. Is trial by jury employed in civil cases ? —Yes ; it is 
applied in connection with the chief civil courts in the United 
Kingdom, principally in relation to questions of damage for 
alleged injuries. 

87. What are ‘ Procurators-Fiscal?’ —They are public inves¬ 
tigators and prosecutors of crime in Scotland, connected with 
county and civic jurisdictions, and are subordinate to the Lord 
Advocate. The term ‘fiscal’ is from the Latin fiscus, signifying 
the crown exchequer. 

88. What is a diplomatist ? —The term signifies one who 
conducts negotiations between sovereigns ; this duty, formerly 
assigned to heralds, is now committed to ambassadors and 
special envoys. The term diplomatist is from diploma , which 
is derived from a Greek word signifying ‘ double or twofold. 
Anciently, a folded-up letter was called a diploma, and hence 
diplomatist was applied to one who received a folded paper 
of instructions. 

89. What are Mercantile Consuls /—They are officers subor¬ 
dinate to ambassadors, whom the state maintains in foreign 
countries for the protection of its trade and vindication of the 
rights of its merchants. A consul is expected to render friendly 
aid to every subject or citizen of the country for which he 
acts. A consul is not necessarily a native of the country 
from which he is deputed. 

90. What is meant by the ‘exequatur of a consul V —The 
term exequatur (‘let him execute’) is applied to a written 
recognition of a consul who has been deputed by a foreign 
country, and authorises him to execute his assigned duties. 
This exequatur or recognition issues from the crown ; in the 
event of war with the country for which the consul acts, his 
exequatur is withdrawn. 


CONCLUDING QUESTIONS. 


177 


Concluding Miscellaneous Questions. 

1. What is Archaeology 1 ? —It is the branch of knowledge 
-embracing objects of ancient art, also ancient languages, 
manners, inscriptions, books, monuments, and institutions— 
-all, indeed, that can throw light on the early history of the 
world. The term is from the Greek archaios , ancient; and 
logos, a discourse. 

2. Is the study of archaeology of modern date ?—It always 
attracted more or less attention ; but it is only in recent times 
that men of learning have devoted themselves to studies of 
this kind in a scientific and critical way, either as regards 
the continents of Asia, Africa, America, and Europe, or the 
British islands. 

3. What have been the grander objects of archaeological 
inquiry in Northern Africa and Asia ? —The pyramids of 
Egypt, and the gigantic stone figures of Assyria ; regarding 
these many interesting discoveries 
have been made in recent times by 
English and French archaeologists. 

4. What is the 1 Rosetta stone V 
—It is a celebrated slab of stone 
of a dark colour found at Rosetta, 
in Egypt, bearing an inscription in 
three varieties of character—the 
.ancient hieroglyphic, the popular 
character of the country, and the 
Greek. 

5. What has rendered this stone a 
subject of interest ? —Interest in the 
Rosetta stone is derived from the 
fact that its triple inscription af¬ 
forded a key to hieroglyphics ; when the idea was arrived at, 
that the three inscriptions were repetitions of each other, it of 
course became easy, through our knowledge of the Greek, to 
interpret the other two. 

6. Who made this discovery ? —Champollion, an eminent 
French archaeologist; the Rosetta stone is now in the British 
Museum, and casts from it are common. 

7. What is meant by the ‘ Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages V — 
According to the theories of certain archaeologists, there was 
a period in which weapons were made of stone ; this was 
followed by a period in which weapons were of copper ; 

L 



a a, Axe-heads. 
b b y Arrow-heads. 





178 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


and'lastly, there was a period when weapons of iron came into 
use. 

8. Where are stone and copper weapons to be seen ?—They 
may "be seen in museums, and consist chiefly of arrow¬ 
heads and axes. They are supposed to be very ancient— 
probably three to four thousand years old. 

9. Mention some of the more notable of the very ancient 
antiquities in the British islands. —Cromlechs, barrows, cairns,. 
Druidic temples, crannoges, and hill-forts—all dating from a 
period previous to the occupation of Britain by the Romans. 

10. What is a cromlech ?—It consists of several large stones 
spt upright, with one or more stones laid across the top, 
forming a kind of table. Cromlechs are seen in France as 
well as England; they are believed to be sepulchral memorials 
or tombs. 



Stonehenge. 

11. What are barrows ?—Barrows are heaped tumuli or 
mounds of earth, generally conical, and, in some instances, 
cover interior erections of stones resembling cromlechs. It 
is thought that open cromlechs had once been so covered 
up, and that the earth has been washed or worn away in the 
course of ages. 

12. What are cairns ?—They are large heaps of stones 
forming conical mounts, and were probably intended to be 
commemorative of some distinguished hero or remarkable 
event. 

13. What is the form of Druidic temples? —They consist of 
circles of huge stones, with, in some instances, stones of equally 
large dimensions laid from the top of one upright stone to 
the top of another. The grandest antiquity of this kind in 
England is that at Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, a few miles from 
Salisbury. 




CONCLUDING QUESTIONS. 


179 


14. Why are these stone circles called Druidic temples s — 
Because it has been thought they were used as temples in the 
pagan worship of the Druids—a priesthood among the early 
Britons and Gauls. But there is no absolute certainty on the 
subject. 

15. What were crannoyes ? —They were artificial islands, 
fortified, in lakes, where families lived secure from attack. 
Remains of these very ancient and curious lake-dwellings are 
found in Ireland, Scotland, and Switzerland. 

16. What were British hill-forts ? —They were circular or 
oval intrenchments of earth and stones, erected generally on 
the tops of hills of moderate elevation, and used as places of 
defence previous to and at the Roman invasion. 

17. What is the shape of Roman camps ?■ —They are usually 
in the form of a square or parallelogram, with several raised 
mounds or intrenchments and intervening ditches, and they 
cover a considerable space of ground. They 
had four entrances, one on each side. One 
of these entrances, called the Praetorian 
Gate, led to the tent of the commander, 
which was styled the Prcetorium. 

18. What are ‘ Round Towers ? ’—They are 
tall, narrow towers of masonry several stories 
in height, found chiefly in Ireland. They 
are believed to date from the 5 th to the 
12th century, and to have been used a3 
belfries to churches, as well as safe recep* 
tacles for the church vessels in times of 
civil disorder. Much has been written 
regarding them. 

19. When were the old castles erected which v 
are now seen in ruins ?—' The greater number “gEg T I 0 r ^ d , 
in England and Scotland were not erected 

till alter the Norman conquest; the feudal keeps or peel- 
houses on the Border were, for the greater part, erected from 



the 14th to the 16th century. 

20. What is Heraldry ?—It is the branch of knowledge 
connected with armorial bearings, with which heralds are 
presumed to be acquainted. Armorial bearings are of 
ancient origin, but they acquired a systematised form in 
England only about the time of Henry III., or end ol the 


13th century. 

21. What are armorial hearings 1 ?—They are figurative 
marks of distinction assigned to individuals by certain courts 


180 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


appointed by tlie sovereign—tbe Heralds’ College in England ; 
the College of Arms in Ireland ; and the Lyon Court in Scot¬ 
land. Armorial hearings are usually styled ‘ coats of arms.’ 

22. Of what does a coat of arms consist ? —In the highest class 
it consists of a shield with supporters, and a crest, along with 
a motto ; but only members of the peerage, or those particu¬ 
larly qualified, are entitled to use supporters. 

23. What is the nature of the shield ? —It is a triangular figure 
with the point downwards, and its tinctures and emblematic 
devices arc some way significant of the family history of the 
individual bearing it. 

24. IVhat are the tinctures in heraldry ? —They are as fol¬ 
lows : gold, which is termed or ; silver, termed argent ; fur, 
termed vair; and red, blue, black, green, and purple, known 
as gules, azure , sable, vert , and purpure. The surface of the 
shield is called ‘ the field.’ 

25. What were the supporters in the royal arms previous to 
the union of the crowns ? —They 
were for England two lions; and 
for Scotland two unicorns. 

26. What were the supporters to 
the royal arms of Great Britain 
after the union of the crowns ?— 

They consisted of a lion on one 
side, and a unicorn on the other. 

According to the present legal¬ 
ised usage, the lion occupies the 
right or dexter side; sometimes, 
in Scotland, the unicorn is 
authorisedly placed on the right 
side, as in judicial seals. 

27. What was borne on the shield in the royal arms previous to 
the union of the crowns ? —In England, the shield bore three lions, 
passant (walking), on a field or; in Scotland, one lion, rampant 
(standing on its hind-legs), gules, on a field or. Scott, in his 
Marmion, alludes to the royal banner of Scotland, on which 

‘ The ruddy lion rampt in gold.’ 

28. How is the royal shield of the United Kingdom now quar¬ 
tered ? —It bears the three lions of England in the first and 
fourth quarter, the lion of Scotland in the second quarter, and 
the harp for Ireland in the third quarter—the whole signifi¬ 
cant of the union of the several countries under one sovereign. 

29. What is Lloyd's ?—It is an establishment at the Royal 



Ancient Royal Arms of Scotland. 








CONCLUDING QUESTIONS. 


181 


Exchange, London, where a "body of subscribers receive intel¬ 
ligence concerning shipping, and where the insurance of vessels 
at sea is undertaken by capitalists engaged in this kind of 
business, styled underwriters. This great marine establish¬ 
ment has agents at nearly all the seaports in the world. 

30. From what does Lloyd’s take its name ?—It is named 
from one Lloyd, who kept a coffee-house in Abchurch Lane 
in 1710, the business of which was afterwards transferred to 
the Royal Exchange. The establishment is now purely 
commercial. 

31. What is ‘ Numismatics V —It is the science which treats 
of coins and medals; the term is from the Greek nomisma , 
‘money issued by lawful authority’—the root of the word 
nomisma being nomos, ‘ law.’ 

32. What is the origm of the word ‘pecuniary V —It is from 
the Latin pecunia , money; the root of the word pecunia was 
pecus, ‘cattle’—cattle having constituted the wealth of the 
early Roman people. 

33. What is the origin of the word 1 money V —It is from the 
temple of Juno Moneta, in which money was coined by the 
Romans. Mint , or place of coinage, has the same root. 

34. What is meant by ‘ sterling V —It signifies money of the 
legalised standard coinage of the United Kingdom. 

35. Explain the origin of ‘ sterling .’—The term sterling is 
believed to be a corruption of Easterling —a person from the 
continent, and therefore from the east, in relation to Eng¬ 
land. The Easterlings were ingenious artisans who came to 
England from Germany in the reign of Henry III. to refine 
the silver money; and the coin they produced was called 
Moneta Esterlingorum —the money of the Easterlings. 

36. What is the origin of the ivord ‘ cash ?’ —The term cash , 
signifying ready money, is from the French word caisse, a 
chest or place in which money is kept. The apartment in a 
French bank in which cash is paid is called the caisse. Such 
an apartment in an English bank is called the telling-room. 

37. What is the origin of the word ‘pound’ in money ?—The 
term pound was originally employed to signify a pound-weight 
of silver, which was divided into 20 parts or shillings ; and 
20s. still continue to be called a pound, although their weight 
has been gradually so much diminished, that it now takes 66 
of them to make a pound-weight. 

38. What is the origin of the word ‘ shilling V —Some con¬ 
nect it with the Swedish skilja, to divide; but it is more 


182 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


probably a corruption of the Latin solidus, the name of a coin 
in ancient Rome, and also in the middle ages. 

39. What is the origin of the word 1 guinea V —Guinea took 
its name from the coast of Guinea, in Africa, whence the gold 
for it was originally brought. The guinea is not now coined, 
but the term still indicates 21s. 

40. What is the origin of the word ‘penny V —It is thought 
by some to be connected with the Lat. pendo, to weigh, or to 
pay, and at one time was used for money in general, as in the 
phrase ‘ a good pennyworth.’ The penny is a very old coin in 
England, and was originally of silver, being the 240th part of 
a pound-weight; the fourth part of a penny was called by the 
Anglo-Saxons feorthung —hence farthing. 

41. What was a‘ groat V —It was a silver piece equal in 
value to fourpence, coined in England until after 1351. The 
name groat, which signifies ‘ great,’ is thought to have been 
given to it from its value, as compared with a penny. 

42. What is meant by the ‘ pillar dollar V —The pillar dollar 
is the name familiarly given to the old Spanish dollar in con¬ 
sequence of bearing a representation of two pillars, with the 
inscription Plus Ultra, ‘more beyond’—meaning that Spain 
owned possessions beyond the ‘ pillars of Hercules,’ or 
mountains at the Straits of Gibraltar. The allusion was to 
the Spanish American colonies. 

43. What is a ‘ piece of eight V —It was the name once 
popularly given to the Spanish dollar, in consequence of 
comprehending eight reals. 

44. What is a cent ? —It is a copper coin of the United 
States, the hundredth part of a dollar, and is named from the 
Latin centum, a hundred; in value, it is nearly the same as 
an English half-penny. 

45. What is a rupee ? —It is a coin in use in India, value 
two shillings ; the name is a corruption of the Sanscrit r&pya, 
from rdpa, shape, and is said to have been given from the 
first coins having had the shape or figure of a man impressed 
on them. A lac of rupees is 100,000. 

46. What are ‘ bills of exchange ? ’—They are written obliga¬ 
tions to pay certain sums of money at a specified time, and are 
a ready and convenient means of settling commercial debts. 
The person who signs a bill, as undertaking the obligation to 
pay, is called the acceptor. 

47. What is meant by ‘ rate of exchange ’ between two 
countries ? —If the merchants of one country have to pay to 
another country more money than they receive in return, they 


CONCLUDING QUESTIONS. 


183 


experience a corresponding difficulty in buying bills to 
transmit to tbeir creditors, and the rate of exchange is 
against them. 

48. Give an example. —A merchant in America who wishes 
to send a bill of exchange for £100 to a merchant in England, 
may have to pay £120 to a bank for it. In this case, the 
excess of £20 is the rate of exchange in favour of England. 

49. What is the ‘ Stock Exchange V -—It is a resort in London 
where brokers buy and sell portions of the government stocks ; 
these stocks are certain parts of the national debt, which are 
-ordinarily spoken of as the funds. By these dealings, the 
claims on the nation are constantly shifting hands. 

50. What are ‘ consols V —The term consols is applied to a 
particular kind of government stock, composed of various 
stocks (properly different borrowings by government), which 
have been consolidated into one. 

51. What are ‘ joint-stock undertakings V —They are large 
commercial enterprises, in which a number of persons join 
together, each putting in a certain amount of money, by 
taking shares, to commence and carry on the concern. The 
aggregate amount of the shares forms the ‘capital stock’ of 
the company. 

52. What is ‘ par V —Par is the original value of a share. 
If the share be £10, that sum is par ; if, from prospects of high 
profit, the £10 share sells for £12, then the share is £2 above 
par ; if, from apprehensions of a small profit, it is saleable for 
only £8, then the share is £2 below par. All that is above 
par is called premium; all that is below is termed discount. 

53. What is meant by 1 the currency V —The currency is the 
money of various kinds passing from hand to hand. It 
consists of gold, silver, and copper coins, called the metallic 
currency ; and bills of exchange, bank-notes, and other instru¬ 
ments of exchange, known as the paper currency. 

54. What is a Bank-note ? —It is the written promise of a 
bank to pay to the bearer a certain expressed sum in the 
standard metal currency on demand. If the bank fails to 
fulfil its promise, the note immediately sinks in value, and 
may become absolutely worthless. By no law or contrivance 
can the nominal value of bank-notes be sustained if the 
holders have not perfect confidence in getting the expressed 
sum on presenting the notes at the bank where they are issued. 

55! What is * Political Economy V —It is the science which 
explains the principles of national wealth; the great and illus¬ 
trious expounder of this science was Adam Smith in his work, 


184 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


The Wealth of Nations; but only in recent times have the 
principles of the science bfeen embraced in England, and 
many countries still reject them. 

56. What is the law of ‘ demand and supply V —It is one 
of the leading laws or principles of political economy, by 
which the whole world is furnished with the necessaries of 
life, each person according to his means. 

57. Explain the law of demand and supply. —If there be a 
general demand for an article, it will be supplied, merely from 
the desire for gain. If the demand exceed the supply, prices 
will rise ; if the supply goes beyond the demand, prices will 
fall. Such, in ordinary circumstances, is the sole principle 
that regulates prices, and also wages. 

58. What is 1 monopoly V —Monopoly is a term from the 
Greek, signifying the sole power of dealing in a particular 
article ; an exclusive right of this kind tends to render the 
article dealt in not only dear, but of a poor quality. 

59. What is meant by a protective policy in trade ?—It means 
a system of legal obstruction to the importation of certain 
goods into a country, in order to give a monopoly to the 
native producers of such goods—the professed aim of a policy 
of this nature being to encourage the growth of native 
manufactures. 

60. What ensues from a protective policy ?—The result is, 
that the public are compelled to buy dear instead of cheap 
goods; thus losing money for the presumed advantage of a 
few, the purchasers are unable to buy as many things as they 
would otherwise like to do, and, accordingly, trade generally 
is made to suffer. In plain language, protection in trade i3 
little better than public robbery. 

61. What is ‘ free trade V —It is freedom of import and 
export, by which trade adjusts itself between different coun¬ 
tries, and every one is left ‘ to buy in the cheapest and sell 
in the dearest market.’ This is now recognised as a sound 
principle in political economy, and the only one consistent 
with national advantage. 

62. What is 1 contraband trade ? ’—It is an irregular trade 
carried on contrary to law; usually, it consists in introducing 
goods illegally and secretly into a country, in order that they 
may escape the duties chargeable upon them. Persons engaged 
in this clandestine trade are called ‘ smugglers.’ 

63. What is meant by social amelioration ? —It signifies an im¬ 
provement in the habits, feelings, and condition of the people 
generally. History points out the progressive stages of social 


CONCLUDING QUESTIONS. 


185 


amelioration—great advances having been lately made, chiefly 
by means of education in its elementary and higher branches. 

64. What is a College ?■ —The term college is from the Latin 
collegium , signifying a collection or assembly. It is sometimes 
applied to associations of clergy, lawyers, physicians, and 
others, but most commonly it means a body of teachers or 
professors, and sometimes graduates, incorporated for the 
promotion of certain branches of learning, and who live 
together in the same building. 

65. What is a University ?—The term university is from the 
Latin universitas, in its sense of a corporation. A university 
may comprehend and have authority over several distinct 
colleges ; and such is frequently the case, as at Oxford, 
Cambridge, and some other places. The university of France 
is an institution comprehending all the colleges in that 
country. 

66. What is meant by a 1 learned faculty V —It is the term 
applied to the teachers (as a body) of a particular kind of 
learning, such as those of law and medicine. The term 
faculty is from the Latin facultas y strictly signifying a power 
of doing anything. 

67. How are the branches of learning in a university classi¬ 
fied ? —They are ordinarily classified into four faculties—arts, 
divinity, law, and medicine. 

68 . What branches are comprehended in the faculty of arts ? 
Latin and Greek languages, Mathematics, Logic, Natural and 
Moral Philosophy, History, Rhetoric, and Belles-Lettres, 
Astronomy, and some other branches. 

69. What branches are comprehended in the faculty of 
divinity ? —Divinity, or Theology; the study of the Scrip¬ 
tures, historical and critical; Hebrew, and, in a general sense, 
the learning especially required by clergymen. 

70. What branches are comprehended in the faculty of law ?— 
Classes for instruction in the different kinds of law required 
by legal practitioners ; also medical jurisprudence. 

71. What branches are comprehended in the faculty of 
medicine ? —Anatomy, Practice of Physic, Clinical Surgery, 
Pathology, Materia Medica, Botany, Chemistry, and various 
other departments. 

72. What is meant by Rhetoric ? —Rhetoric is a term from 
the Greek, and signifies the art of speaking with propriety and 
oratorical effect—the science of eloquence. 

73. What is meant by Belles-Lettres The term Belles-Lettres 

is French, signifying literally fine or elegant writings; but it is 


186 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


commonly applied to the art of literary composition in the 
different departments of poetry and prose. 

74. TVhat is Pathology ?—A knowledge of the causes and 
character of diseases ; so called from the Greek pathos, suffer¬ 
ing, and logos, a discourse. 

75. What is Hygiene ?—It is the art of preserving health ; 
the term is from Hygieia, the goddess of health in the Greek 
mythology. 

76. What is meant by Therapeutics ? —It is from the Greek 
word therapeuo, I cure, and signifies the application of medicines 
•and other means of curing diseases. 

77. What is Surgery ?— The art of healing diseases by 
instruments, the medical practitioner who does so being called 
a surgeon; this word surgeon, however, is a contraction of 
the older term chirurgeon, which is from two Greek words 
signifying hand and work , or work done by the hand. 

78. What is meant by ‘clinical,’ as applied to surgery and 
medicine ? — £ Clinical ’ is from a Greek word signifying a 
bed, and is applied to those branches in the medical art in 
which instruction is given to students at the bedsides of 
patients. Hospitals and infirmaries are the great schools of 
clinical medicine and surgery. 

79. What is Materia Medica ?— It ife the branch of instruc¬ 
tion which treats of the nature and the action of medicines. 

80. What is meant by Pharmacy ?—It is the art of preparing 
and dispensing medicines. A book which gives directions 
for the preparing and compounding medicines is called a 
Pharmacopoeia. 

81. What is Medical Jurisprudence ?—It is the application 
of medical and chemical science to the discovery of the causes 
of death under circumstances requiring legal investigation. 
Tor example—professors of medical jurisprudence are em¬ 
ployed to examine the bodies of persons who are sup¬ 
posed to have been murdered by criminal administration 
of poisons. 

82. What is meant by the phrase ‘ vis medicatrix naturce V —It 
signifies the natural power of healing in the animal system ; 
for example, a cut in the finger will heal through a natural 
inherent power—the vis medicatrix natures —and, what we 
have chiefly to do, in the case of wounds, is to facilitate the 
operation of this beneficent power in nature. 

83. What is a degree in a college or university ? —The term 
c degree ’ is from the Latin gradus , a step, and signifies an 
advance made by the student in certain branches of learning. 


CONCLUDING QUESTIONS. 


187 


The conferring of degrees is one of the privileges of an incor¬ 
porated college or university. The degrees best known are 
those indicated hy A.M., master of arts ; D.D., doctor of 
divinity; M.D., doctor of medicine ; and LL.D., doctor of 
laws. 

84. Explain the meaning of the letters LL.D. —LL.D. stand 
for Legum doctor , doctor of laws, the double L signifying that 
the word is in the plural—laws, in reference to the two kinds 
■of law, the Civil, and the Canon or Ecclesiastical law. It is 
now, however, usually given as an honorary degree, or for 
eminence in science and literature generally, without any 
special reference to law. 

85. What is engineering ?—-It is the art of designing and 
superintending the execution of large undertakings, such as 
roads, railways, canals, bridges, piers, docks, and water-works. 
Usually it is styled civil engineering, to distinguish it from 
military engineering, and from the making of steam-engines 
and other machinery. 

86. Mention two celebrated civil engineers in recent times .— 
Thomas Telford, originally an operative mason in Dumfries¬ 
shire, who rose to distinction as constructor of the Caledonian 
Canal and other great works of public utility; died 1834. And 
Robert Stephenson (son of George Stephenson, improver of the 
locomotive), born 1803, eminent for his various railway works, 
also for constructing the tubular bridge across the Menai Strait; 
he died 1859, and was buried by the side of Telford in 
Westminster Abbey. 

87. What is meant by j.’Esthetics ?—It signifies the science of 
the beautiful, applied to painting, sculpture, music, and other 
fine arts, also poetry and the feelings. The theory of the 
beautiful has engaged much learned disquisition in ancient 
and modern times. 

88 . What recent French writer has treated of the Beautiful ?—■ 
Victor Cousin, who rises to an apprehension of an ideal 
beauty whose realisation he finds in God —■ God,’ says Cousin, 
* in whom is combined absolute unity with infinite variety, is 
necessarily the realised ideal of all beauty.’ 

89. What are the famed lines of Keats on beauty ? —They are 
as follows : 


* A thing of beauty is a joy for ever; 
Its loveliness increases; it will never 
Pass into nothingness.’ 


Note.—E xtended information on scientific, biographic, and other 
subjects, will be readily found in Chambers's Encyclopaedia, a 
Dictionary of Universal Knowledge. 


INDEX. 


Aberdeen', 

PAGE 

. 19 

Abulfe'da, . 

96 

Academei'a, 

. 87 

Academy, origin of 

the word, 

CO 

Acclimatising 

of 

plants, . 

. 55 

Acoustics, 37 ; 

to 


whom of special 
importance, . 37 

Act of parliament, an, 169 
Action and reaction 
of bodies, 46; ex¬ 
amples of, . 46, 47 

Addison, Joseph, 113, 125 
Adelung, . . Ill 

Adhesion of bodies, 45 
Advocate, the Lord, 176 
Aerolites, 44 ; why 
luminous, . . 44 

JEs'chylus, . . 84 

.discula'pius, . . 85 

.di'sop, « . 84 

^Esthetics, . .187 

Africa,12; the natives 
of, their race and 
condition, . . 20 

Ages, the stone, 
bronze, and iron, 177 
Ainsworth, W. H., 140 

Air, deteriorated by 
breathing, 30; in¬ 
jurious effects of 
breathing bad, 30; 
where it best re¬ 
tains the sun’s heat, 

34 ; how com¬ 
pressed, 35 ; the 
science that treats 
of its properties, 

35; how altered by 
heat, 36; uses of 


PAGE 

the, 37, 51; dry, a 
bad electric con¬ 
ductor, 40. (See 
Atmosphere.) 

Air-pump, . . 35 

Akenside, Mark, 128 

Alber'tus Mag'nus, 95 

Alchemists, . . 27 

Alchemy, 93; its ori¬ 
gin, ... 96 

Alcibi'ades, . . 86 

Ale, from what pre¬ 
pared, ... 53 

Alexan'der of Ha'les, 95 

Alexandrines, . . 82 

Alfie'ri, . . 102 

Algae, ... 52 

Alison, Sir Archibald, 141 
Alloys, ... 27 

Alps, the, . . 14 

Alto-relievo, sculp¬ 
ture in, . . 153 

Aluminous soil, . 24 

A.M., . . 75,187 

Amadis of Gaul, . 99 

Am'azon, the river, 15 

Amber, its electrical 
power, . . 40 

Ambrose, . . 94 

America, its distance 
from Europe, 20; 
its extent, 20 ; why 
called the New 
World, 20; its dis¬ 
coverers, . . 20 

America, North, 12; 
its rivers, 16; its 
lakes, 16; people 

of, 20; principal 
countries in, 20; its 
chief towns, . 20, 21 

America, South, 12, 


PAGB 

20 ; people of, 20 ; 
principal countries 
in, 20 ; remarkable 
for volcanoes, . 26 

American Indian race 
described, . . 67 

American literature, 143 

-- writers, the 

more eminent, :. 143 
Amerigo Vespucci, 20 
Ammonite, the, . 22 

Amphibious animals, 59 
Amsterdam, . . 18 

Analysis, chemical, 

28 ; how effected, 

28; value of, . 28 

Ancient literature, of 
what it consists, 77 

An'des, the, , 14 

An'gelo, Michael, 145, 146 
Anglo-Saxon race, . 67 

Animal creation, . 56 

(See Animals.) 

Animal kingdom, . 56 

(See Animals.) 

Animal painting, 144 

Animalcules, . 59, 60 
Animals, ideas that 
first occur to the 
mind concerning, 

56; the lower, what 
meant by, 56; prey 
on each other, 56'; 
nature’s plan for 
ridding the ground 
of dead, 57; the 
balance of animal 
life, 57; animal life, 
how affected by 
climate, 57; how 
atone time classed, 

57; this classifi- 


















190 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


PAGE 

cation 'why aban¬ 
doned, 57 ; the 
modern classifica¬ 
tion of, 57 ; the sub¬ 
kingdoms in this 
classification, 57; 
rayed, 57; pulpy, 57; 
jointed, 58; back¬ 
boned, 58, 63 ; gre¬ 
garious,58; pairing, 

58 ; oviparous, 58 ; 
viviparous, 58; ovo- 
viparous, 59; digiti- 
grade quadrupeds, 

59; plantigrade 
quadrupeds, 59 ; 
hybernating, 59 ; 
domesticated, 59; 
amphibious, 59 ; 
parasitic, 59; lowest 
forms of, 59; cold¬ 
blooded, 63; suck¬ 
giving, 63, 64 ; 

pouched, 64; gnaw¬ 
ing, 65; ruminat¬ 
ing, 65 ; thick- 
skinned, 65; wild, 

65; difference be- 


tween the intelli¬ 


gence of the lower 


and that of man, 66 ; 


four - handed, 66 ; 


two-handed, 66 ; 


fabulous, of the 


middle ages, 

99 

Annual plants, 

54 

Annual Register, the 


first, 

129 

Antarctic Circle, the, 

8 

Antennae of insects, 

62 

Anthem, an, . 

164 

Anti-Jacobin, the, 


136; poetry of the, 


136; chief writers 


in the, 

136 

Antiquities, British, 

178 

Antis'thenes, . 

87 

Apelles, 

144 

Apocrypha, the, 

77 

ApolloBelvide're, the, 

154 

Apostle, meaning of 


an, 

79 

Appeal, courts of, in 


Great Britain, 

175 

April, origin of the 


name, . . 

71 

Apse, the, . 

159 

Aqua'rius, 

10 

Aqueous rocks, . 

22 

Aqui'nas, Thomas, . 

95 


Ardbian Nights' En¬ 
tertainments, origin 
of the, 96; how 


PAGE 

made known in Eu¬ 
rope, ... 96 

Arabic language, the, 76 
-literature, pe¬ 
riod of, . . . 95 

Arachni'da, the, . 63 

Arch, the, in ancient 
architecture, . 159 

Archaeology,. . 177 

Archime'des, . . 88 

Architecture, of the 
middle ages, 98; 
in ancient times, 

158; Cyclopean, 

158 ; styles of, 158; 
Grecian, 158; Ro¬ 
man,159; Saracenic, 

160; Byzantine,160; 
Elizabethan, 161; 
Gothic, 98,160; Ital¬ 
ian, 161; Renaiss¬ 
ance, 161; Scottish, 

161; Tudor, . 161 
Architrave of a build¬ 


ing, the, . . 162 

Arctic Circle, the, 8 
Argentine Confeder- 


ation, the. 


. 20 

Argillaceous soil, . 

24 

Arianism, 


. 94 

A'ries, . 


10 

Arios'to, . 


. 101 

Aristar'chus, 

co 

CO 

a 

modern, 


. 89 

Aristip'pus, . 

• 

86 

Aris'tocles, 


. 87 

Aristoph'anes, 

• 

85 

Aristotle, 


. 85 

A'rius, . . 


94 

Armin, 

• 

. Ill 


Arminians, founder of 
the, . . .111 

Arminius, . . Ill 

Armorial bearings, . 179 
Arthur and his Knights 
of the Round Table, 99 
Articula'ta, the, 57, 61 

Art of painting, . 144 

—, the Ceramic, 155, 156 
(See Ceramic.) 

Arts, Occult, 97 ; the 
Fine, 144 ; the Plas¬ 
tic, 152; the Faculty 
of,. . . . 185 

Aryans, the, . 76 

Ascham, Roger, . 115 

A'sia, 12; principal 
countries in, 19 ; 
people of, what often 
called, . . 19, 20 

Asiatic Russia, . 19 

- Turkey, . 19 

Astrologers, . . 12 


PAGE 

Astrology, nature of, 

97; nations believed 
to be proficients in, 

97; confidence in, 
how shaken, . 97 

Astronomy, 1 ; no¬ 
tions of the ancients 
respecting, . . 1 , 86 

Athana'sius,. . 94 

Ath'ens, ... IS 
Atlantic Ocean, the, 12 
Atmosphere, the, of 
what composed, 29; 
its vital principle, 

29; its height, 34; 
not of uniform con¬ 
sistency, 34; where 
it best retains the 
sun’s heat, 34; its 
pressure on the 
earth, 34 ; its pres¬ 
sure, why not felt by 
us, 34; examples 
of its pressure, 35 ; 
temperature at 
which water boils, 
affected by pressure 
of the, 35; its pres¬ 
sure,how measured, 

35; its salubrity, 
how maintained, . 51 

(See Air.) 

Atterbury, Dr Francis, 126 
Attraction, capillary, 

46 ; examples of, . 46 

Attraction of gravita¬ 
tion, 43; principle 
of, 43; how affected 
by distance, 43; 
why not the same in 
all parts of the 
globe at the sea- 
level, 44; operation 
of, as regards liquids, 44 
Attrition, . . 23 

August, origin of the 
name, ... 72 

Augus'tine, St, . 94, 99 
Aureola in art, the, 15 L 
Auro'ra Borea'lis, . 41 

Austen, Miss, . 141 

Australia, . 12, 19 

Aus'tria, 17 ; capital of, 18 
Auvergne, extinct 
volcanoes in, . 26 

A'ves, the, 63; nature 
of, 63; orders of, 63 

Bach, . . . 163 

Bacon, Lord, . 120 

Baillie, Joanna, . 131 
Balance of nature, 
what meant by the, 



















INDEX. 191 


PAGE 

57; instance of its 
derangement by inan, 57 
Ballantine, James, . 140 
Balloon, a, . 37 

Baltic Sea, the, . 12 

Balzac, . . . 107 

Bancroft, George, . 143 
Banim, John, . 140 

Bank-note, a, . . 183 

Banks, Sir Joseph, 136 
Barhauld, Mrs, . 131 

Barbour, John, . 116 

Barley, chief use of, 53 
Barnacle, the, 61; 
erroneous belief re¬ 
specting, . . 61 

Barometer, the, 35; 
construction of, 35; 
why called a 
weather-glass, , 36 

Barrow, Isaac, . 123 

Barrows, . . . 178 

Basalt, ... 22 

Basilica, a, . . 159 

Bas-relief, sculpture 
in, ... 153 

Batra'chia, the, . 63 

Baxter, Richard, . 123 

Bay, a, . 14 

Bayle, . . . 105 

Bear, the Great, . 3 

Beattie, James, . 131 

Beaumont, Francis, 119 
Beautiful, the, . . 187 

Beauty, lines of Keats 
on, . . . 1S7 

Beckford, William, 132 

Bede, ... 95 

Bee, eyes of the, . 62 

Beer, from what pre¬ 
pared, ... 53 

Beethoven, . . 163 

Belfast', ... 19 

Bel'gium, 17; capital 
of, ... 18 

Bell, Currer, . 141 

Belles-lettres, . .185 

Belligerents, . 172 

Belli'ni, . . .164 

Ben Ne'vis, . . 19 

Benecke, . .111 

Benefit of clergy, 171 
Bentham, Jeremy, . 137 

Benvenu'to Celli'rii,’ 155 
Beranger, . .107 

Berghem, . 148, 149 

Berkeley, Dr George, 126 
Berlin', . . .18 

Berne, . . IS 

Bewick, Thomas, . 157 

Bi'as, ... 83 

Bible, meaning of the 
word, 77; in what 


PAGE 

languages origin¬ 
ally written, 77 ; 
translations of the, 

78 ; present Eng¬ 
lish version exe- 


cuted, . . , 

78 

Bib'liaPau'perum,the, 157 

Bibliographer, a, . 

79 

Bibliography, 

79 

Biennial plants, 

54 

Bilderdyke, . 

112 

Bill, a, 

169 

Bills of exchange, 

182 

Bima'na, the, . 

66 

Birds, 63 ; nature of, 



63; orders of, 63, 

64; climbing, 63, 

64 ; gallinaceous, 
63,64; perching, 63, 

64; rapacious, 63, 

64 ; running, 63, 

64 ; scraping, 63, 

64; swimming, 63, 

64; wading, . 63, 64 
Birmingham, . . 18 

Bivalve shells, 61 ; 

example of, . . 61 

Black, pipes for 
warming houses, 
why painted, . 31 

Black,-Joseph, . 136 

Blackstone, Sir Wil¬ 
liam, . . . 174 

Blair, Dr Hugh, . 133 

Blanc, Mont, . . 18 

Blank verse, . 82 

Blind Harry, . .116 

Blockade, the right of, 172 
Boccac'cio, . . 101 

Boerhaave, . . 112 

Boiar'do, . . 101 

Boileau, . . . 105 

Bolingbroke, Lord, 125 
Boliv'ia, ... 20 

Bolognese school of 

painting, leading 
painters of the, . 146 
Bombay', . . 19 

Bom'byx mo'ri, the, 62 
Bonheur, Rosa, . 148 
Book, the first printed 
in England, . 115 
Books, ancient form 
of, 79; how pre¬ 
pared before the in¬ 
vention of printing, 79 
Bopp, , . . HI 

Bor'neo, ... 12 

Bossuet, . . 105 

Bos'ton, . . .21 

Boswell, James, . 130 

Boswell, Sir Alexander— 


PAGE 

Boulders, . . 23 

Bourdaloue, . 105 

Bower, Walter, . 116 

Boyle, Hon. Robert, 

123; Lectures, the, 123 
Bradford, . . 18 

Brahd, Tycho, . 108 

Brain, the, . . 68 

Brantome, . . 104 

Brass, ... 27 

Brazil', . . 20 

Bread, ... 53 

Brewster, Sir David, 141 
Bristol, ... 18 

Britain, Great, 12; 

its rivers, 16; the 
highest mountain 
in, 19 ; law in, 

173 ; royal arms 
of, how quartered, 180 
(See England.) 
Britain, Great, and 
Ireland, United 
Kingdom of, 17 ; 
capital of, 18 ; 

foreign possessions 
of, ... 10 

British antiquities, 178 

- cabinet, the, 166 

- colonies, law 

in the, . . . 174 

British constitution, the— 
166 

-essayists, the, 124 

- government, 

nature of the, . 166 

British hill-forts, . 179 
Brontd, Miss, . 141 

Bronze, ... 27 

Brougham, Lord, 137, 141 
Brown, Charles B., . 143 
Browne, Sir Thomas, 120 
Bruce, James, . 134 

-, Michael, . 128 

Brueys, . . . 105 

Brumaire, the month, 73 
Brunton, Mrs, . 141 
Brussels, . . 18 

Bruyere, . . 105 

Bryant, W. C., . 143 

Buchanan, George, 117 
Buffon, the Count de, 106 
Building, parts of a, 162 


Bulb, a, 54; ex¬ 


amples of, . 

54 

Bulbous plants, . 

54 

Bunsen, . 

111 

Bunyan, John, . 

123 

Burke, Edmund, 

134 

Burnet, Gilbert, . 

124 

Burney, Frances, . 

132 

Burns, Robert, 

135 

Burton, Robert, . 

120 









192 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


PACK 

Butler, Samuel, . 122 
Butterfly, transfor¬ 
mations of the, 

62; lenses in the 
eye of a, . . 62 

Byron, Lord, . 139 

Byzantine architec¬ 
ture, 160; grand 
specimen of, . 160 

Byzantine artists, 
the, . . 144, 145 


Cabinet pictures, . 151 

-, the British, 166 

Cabot, Sebastian, . 20 

Coe'sar, Ju'lius, . 91 

Cairns, . . 178 

Calcareous rocks, . 23 

Calcut'ta, . . 19 

Cal'deron, . . 103 

Calendar month, a, 71 

-, the Julian, 

69 ; the Gregor¬ 
ian, 70 ; the 
French revolutionary,73 
Calends, 72; ‘at the 
Greek,’... 72 

Caloric, . . 30 

Calorific, ... 30 

Calvin, John, . 104 

Cambridge, . . 18 

Catnden, William, 120 
Camoens, . . 103 

Campbell, Lord, . 141 

-, Thomas, 138 

Can ada, 19, 20 ; chief 
towns in, . . 21 

Canalet'to, . . 14G 

Can'cer, 10 ; Tropic of, 8 
Canic'ula, the star, . 4 

Cani'dte, the, . 65 

Ca'nis Ma'jor, the 
constellation, . 4 

Canning, George,. 136 

Canon law, the, . 173 

-of Scripture, the, 77 

Canopy of heaven,’ 

* The, ... 4 

Cano'va, Antonio, 155 
Canterbury, . . 18 

Canterbury Tales, 
nature of Chaucer’s, 114 
Cape, a, . . .14 

-of Good Hope, 19 

Capillary attraction, 

46; examples of, . 46 

Capital, a, 18 

-stock, . 183 

Cap'ricorn, Tropic of, 8 
Capricor'nus, . . 10 

Carac'cis, the, . 146 

Carbonic acid, . . 29 


Cat bonic acid gas, uu- 


PAGE 

wholesome,30; sup¬ 
ports vegetation, . 30 

Carburetted hydro¬ 
gen gas, . . 28 

Carey, Dr Henry, 165 
Carleton, William, 140 

Carlisle', . . 18 

Carlyle, Thomas, . 141 
Carniv'ora, the, . 65 

Caryat'ides, . . 159 

Cash, origin of word, 181 
Castles in Britain, old, 179 
Casus belli, a, . . 172 

Cat tribe, the, . 65 

Cats, a Dutch writer, 112 
Catul'lus, . . 91 

Caucasian race, de¬ 
scribed, 66 ; why so 
called, ... 66 

Cause of all things, 
the Great First, 1 
Cauvin, Jean, . .104 

Cave, Edward, . 129 

Caxton, William, . 115 
Celestial globes, . 3 

Celli'ni, Benvenu'to, 135 
Cel'sus, ... 93 

Celtic language, the, 76 

-race, . . 67 

Censorship of the 
press, . . 83 

Cent, a, . . . 182 

Central heat of the 
earth, 25; how 
manifested, . . 25 

Centrifugal force,. 6 

Century, a, .71 

Ceramic art, the, 155, 

156 ; by whom cul¬ 
tivated in ancient 
times, 156; revived 
in Italy, . . 156 

Cereal plants, why to 
called, ... 53 

Cervan'tes, . . lo 2 

Ceta'cea, the, . . 65 

Ceylon', . . 12 , 19 

Chaldee language, 
the, ... 76 

Chalk beds, . . 22 

Chalmers, Rev. Dr, 141 
Chalybeate springs, 26 
Chambers, Ephraim, 129 
•-, Sir Wil¬ 
liam, . . 162 

Cbampollion, . . 177 

Channel, a, . . 14 

Charles I. of England, 121 
Charyb'dis, whirlpool 
of, ... 17 

Chateaubriand, . 107 

Chatham,... 18 

Ciiatterton, Thomas, 130 


PAGE 

Chaucer, Geoffrey, . 114 

Cheirop'tera, the, 65; 
name given to them 
by Linnmus,. . 66 

Chelo'nia, the, . 63 

Chemical affinity, , 28 

-analysis,28; 

how effected, 28; 
value of, . . 23 

Chemical decomposi¬ 
tion, ... 29 

Chemical discoveries, 2» 

Chemistry, defined, 

28; origin of the 
science of, . 27, 93 

Chi'li, ... 20 

Chi'lon, ... 83 

Chi'na, 19; charac¬ 


ter of, . . . 20 

Christian era, the, 69 
‘ Christopher North,’ 140 
Chronology defined, 69 
Chrysalis, the, . . 62 

Chrys'ostom, . 94 


Church, the Fathers 
of the, ... 94 

Church of England, 
constitution of the, 

170; how supported, 

170; orders of clergy 
in the, . . . 170 

Church of Scotland, 
constitution of the, 

171; how supported, 

171 ; General As¬ 
sembly of the, 171; 
the Free, . . 172 

Cibber, ... 126 

Cic'ero, ... 90 

Cid, the, . . 102 

Cirnabue,. . .115 

Cincinnati, . . 21 

Cirbrus, the cloud, . 3 4 

Civil day, a, 75; how 
divided, . . 75 

Civil month, a, . 71 

- rights, . . 67 

-year, a, . 70 

Clare, John, . .140 

Clarendon, Earl of, 122 
Clarke, Dr Samuel, . 126 
Classical languages, 76 
Classics, the Delphin, b 2 
Claude Lorraine, . 147 

Clay, . . . 22,24 

Clement of Alexan¬ 
dria, ... 94 

Cleob'ulus, . . 83 

Clergy, benefit of, 171 

- of the Church 

of England, . . 170 

Climate, how it affects 
animal life, . . 57 














INDEX. 


193 


PAGE 

Clinical, what meant 
by, . . .186 

Clocks, when invented, 76 
Clouds, what they are, 

32; why they dis¬ 
appear in fine 
weather, 32; height 
of the, 34; where 
most found, 34; how 
caused, 34; classi¬ 
fication of, . . 34 

•Clyde, the river, . 16 

Coal, 24; of what com¬ 
posed, . . 24, 25 

Coat of arms, a, . 180 
Cockburn, Mrs, . 135 

Cocoon, a, . . 63 

Code Napoleon, the, 173 
Coke, Sir Edward, 174 

Cold, 30 ; why it 
becomes suddenly 
cold in some fine 
climates when the 
sun sets, . . 88 

Cold-blooded animals, 63 
Coleop'tera, the, . 61 

Coleridge, Samuel 
Taylor, . . .138 

College, a, . 185 

Collins, William, . 128 

Colman the Younger, 
George, . . 131 

Colour, as affecting 
heat, 31; in the 
skin an effect of 
circumstances, 68; 
of the negro, how 
accounted for, . 68 

Colours, primary, 38; 
compound, 38; the 
prismatic, 38 ; of 
the rainbow, bow 
produced, , . 39 

Columbi'dae, the, . 64 

Columbus, Christopher, 20 
ColumelTa, . . 92 

Combustion, . 29 

Comedy, ... 82 

Comets, 4; their ap¬ 
pearance, 4 ; their 
nature, 5; their 
number, 5; their 
motion, . . 5 

Comines, Philippe de, 103 
Common law, . . 173 

Compass, the Mariner’s. 
(See Mariner’s Com¬ 
pass.) 

Comte, Auguste, . 108 
Conchology,. . 61 

Concordats, . .173 

Condorcet, . . 106 
Coufu'cius, » .80 


PAGE 

Congd d’elire, a, . 170 

Conglomerate, . . 23 

Congreve, . . 126 

Consols, . . . 183 

Constantinople, . 18 

Constellations, 3; 
names and situa¬ 
tions of the, how 
learned, . . 3 

Consuls, mercantile, 

176; the exequatur 
of,. . . . 176 

Continental litera¬ 
ture, . . . 101 

Continents, 12 ; their 
number, . . 12 

Contraband of war, 172 

-trade, . 184 

Convocation, . 170 

Cooper, Anthony Ash¬ 
ley, . . .126 

Cooper, J. F., . 143 

-, the painter, 150 

Copenhagen, . 18 

Copernicus, Nicolas, 108 
Copper, 24 ; alloyed, 27 
Copyright, . . 142 

Corallif'era, the, . 60 

Cork, ... 19 

Corn, 53 ; Indian, 53 
Corna'ro, Louis, . 101 
Corneille,’ * Le grand, 105 

-, Pierre, . 104 

Cornwall, Duchy of, 175 
Coronation, a, . 169 

Correggio, . .146 

Cotton, Charles, . 121 

Court of Session, the, 175 
Cousin, Victor, 107, 187 
Coverdale, Myles, . 78 

Cowley, Abraham, 121 
Cowper, William, . 134 

Crabbe, Ilev. George, 137 
Crannoges, . .179 

Crater, a, 25 

Crawford, Robert, 127 
Cri'to, ... 86 

Cromlech, a, . 178 

Crown, the, the term 
how employed, . 170 
Crust of the earth, 
what meant by the, 21 
Crusta'cea, the, . 61 

Cryptoga'mia, the, 51; 
plants included in 
the, 52 ; how repro¬ 
duced, . . .52 

Cryptogamous plants 
(see Crvptogamia ); 
vegetation in 
dwelling-houses, 
familiar examples 
of, ... 52 


PAGE 

Crvstallisation, . 29 

Cu'ba, . . 12, 21 

Cudworth, Dr Ralph, 122 
Cu'mulus, the cloud, 34 
Cunningham, Allan, 140 
Currency, the, . 183 
Currents, . . 17 

Cufso'res, the, 63; 

birds included in, 64 
Cuticle, the, . . 63 

Cu'tis ve'ra, the, . 68 

Cuvier, 57; his clas¬ 
sification of ani¬ 
mals, ... 57 

Cuyp, . . . 148 

Cycle, a, 74 ; a lunar, 

74; a metonic, . 74 

Cyclones, . . 36 

Cyclopean architec¬ 
ture, . . . 158 

Cynics, the, . . 87 

Cynosar'ges, . . 87 

Da Costa, . .112 

Daguerre, M., . 152 

D’Alembert, . . 106 

Dalton, John, . 141 

Damp appearance of 
walls and paved 
passages inside of 
buildings, how 
caused, . . 32 

Daniel, the poet, 119 
Dan'te, . . . 101 

Danube, the river, 16 
Da'rien, Isthmus of, 20 
Dates, example of the 
method of writing 
previous to 1752, . 71 

D’Aubignd, J. 11. M., 108 
David, the painter, 148 
Davy, Sir Humphry, 141 
Day, an intercalary, 

69; New-Year’s, 

71; a civil, 75 ; how 
divided, 75 ; a si¬ 
dereal, 75; a solar, 

75; the, when it 
begins, . . 75 

Days and nights, dif¬ 
ference in thelength 
of, how caused, . 8 

Days of the week, 
origin of the Eng¬ 
lish names of the, 

72; names of the, 
employed in the 
records of parlia¬ 
ment, ... 72 

Days in a decade of 
the French revolu¬ 
tionary calendar, 
names of the, . 73 


H 









194 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


PAGE 


D. D., 

187 

Decades of the French 


revolutionary ca- 


lendar, 73; names 


-of the days in 


til G, • • • 

73 

Decadi, the day, 

73 

Decameron, the, . 

101 

Decandolle, 

107 

December, origin of 


the name, 

72 

Deciduous trees, . 

54 

Decker, Thomas, 

120 

Defoe, Daniel, . 

124 

Degree, a geographi- 


cal, 14 ; how di- 


vided, . 

14 

Degrees in a univer- 


sity, . . 186, 

187 

De Groot, 

111 

Delphin classics, the, 

82 

Del Principe , . 

101 

Delta, a, 

24 

Demand and Supply, 


law of, 

184 

Democ'ritus, 

88 

Denham, Sir John, 

121 

Den'roark, 17; capi- 


tal of, . 

18 

De Quincey, Thomas, 

141 

Descartes, 

104 

De Vic, or Wyck, 


Henrv, 

76 

Dew, . . . 

32 

Dialect, a, . . 

77 

Dickens, Charles, 

141 

Diderot, . 

106 

* Di'es Free,’ the, 

163 

Di'esJo'vis, . 

72 

-Lu'nse, 

72 

-Mar'tis, 

72 

-Mercu'rii, 

72 

-Satur'ni, 

72 

-So'lis, 

72 

-Ven'eris, 

72 

Digitigrade quadru- 


peds, . 

59 

Diodo'rus Sic'ulus, 

89 

Diog'enes, 

87 

Diony’sius of Hall- 


carnas'sus, . 

89 

Diplomatist, a, . 

176 

Dip'tera, the, . 

62 

Discount, 

183 

Disintegration, mean 


ingof, . 

23 

Disraeli, Benjamin, 

140 

Dissenters, 

171 


Divan,the, . . 96 

Divarication of lan¬ 
guages, . . 77 

Divina Commedia, 

the, . . .101 


PAGE 

Divinity, the faculty 
of, ... 185 
Dodsley, Robert, 129 
Dog-days, the, . 4 

Dog-star, the, 4; an¬ 
cient belief respect¬ 
ing the, . . 4 

Dog-tribe, the, . 65 

Dollar, the pillar, . 182 
Dolphin, the, . 65 

Domenichino, . . 146 

Domesticated animals, 59 
Donkey and well, . 50 

Donne, the poet, . 119 

Don Quixote, . .102 

Douglas, Gavin, . 116 

Douw, Gerard, . 148 
Downs,. . . 24 

Drama, original form 
of the, 81; in the 
middle ages, . 98 

Dramatic poetry, 81 
Drayton, . . 119 

Druidic temples, 178 
Drummond, William, 117 
Dryden, John, . 122 
Dry-rot in timber, 52 
Dub'lin, ... 19 

Duchy of Cornwall, 
the, . . . 175 

Duchy of Lancaster, 
the, . . . 175 

Duchy palatine, a, 175 

Dudevant, Madame, 107 
Dunbar, William, . 116 
Dundee', . . 19 

Duns Sco'tus, . . 95 

Duodi, the day, . 73 

Diirer, Albert, . 146 
Dutch literature, . Ill 

-school of paint¬ 
ing, 149; distin¬ 
guished painters of 
the, . . . 148 

Dutch writers, 111, 112 
Dyce, W., . . 151 

Earth, the, a planet, 

2 ; its distance 
from the sun, 5; its 
shape, 5; its size, 

5 ; its satellite, 5 ; 
how known to be 
round, 6; its mo¬ 
tions, 7 ; its an¬ 
nual revolution, 7; 
its diurnal motion, 

7; its axis, 7, 8 ; its 
orbit, 7; its posture 
in its revolution, 

8 ; extent of its 
surface, 12 ; origin 
of its division into 


PAGB 

countries, 17 ; its 
crust, 21; its centre 
in a state of heat, 

25; magnetic poles 
of the, 41; attrac¬ 
tion of the, 43, 44 ; 
bodies beyond the, 

44 ; cause of the 
difference of, . 44 

(See World.) 
Earthquakes, 27 ; 

cause of, . .27 

East, the, . . 19 

Easter, rule for de¬ 
termining it in any 
particular year, . 74 

Echo, an, 37; where 
most common, . 37 

Eclipse of the moon, 
how caused, 11 ; 
of the sun, how 
caused, . . 11 

Ecliptic, the, 8; how 
situated with re¬ 
spect to the equator, 8 

Ed'das, the, . . 95 

Edinburgh, 19; pa¬ 
tron saint of, . 99 

Edinburgh Iievieiv, 
the, . . .137 

Eels, exploded notion 
concerning their 
production, . . 60 

F/gypt, . . 20 

Egyptian year, the, 69 

Eleatic School, the, 88 

Electric battery, . 40 

- clock, . 42 

-telegraph, . 42 

Electricity, 40; good 
conductors of, 40; 
bad conductors of, 

40; kinds of, 40; 
positive, 40; nega¬ 
tive, 40; flashes of, 
how produced, 41; 
how demonstrated 
in nature, . . 41 

Electrifying machine— 
40, 41 

Elementary substances, 
their number, 28; 
their nature, 28 ; 
their compounds, 
how discovered, . 28 

Elements, the four, 28 
Elevation-plan, an, 162 
Elgin Marbles, the— 

153, 154 

Eliot, George, . 141 
Elixir Vitae, . 96 

Elizabethan architec¬ 
ture, . . .161 



















PAGR 

Elliot, Miss, . 135 

•-, Sir Gilbert, . 127 

Elves, ... 98 

Emerson, Ralph W., 143 
Encyclopedia, the 
first English, . 129 

Endogenous trees, 55; 

example of, . . 55 

Engineering, . 187 

Engineers, two cele¬ 
brated modern civil— 
187 

England, 17; chief 
cathedral towns, 18; 
chief manufactur¬ 
ing towns in, 18 ; 
chief naval stations 
in, 18 ; university 
towns, 18; principal 
sea-ports in, 18 ; 
Church of (see 
Church) ; patron 
saint of, . . 99 

(See Britain, Great.) 
English language, 
the, 76; nature of 
the, 113; number 
of words in the, 

113; words used 
in literature, 113; 
words used in 
speaking the, . 113 
English law, nature 
of, 173; courts, . 174 
English literature, 

113; when it com¬ 
mences, 113 ; in 
the reign of Eliza¬ 
beth, change in, 

118; 1649 to 1689, 
condition of, 121; 

1689 to 1727, 124; 

1727 to 1760, 127 ; 

1760 to 1800, 130; 
of the 19th cen¬ 
tury, . . .137 

English national an¬ 
them, . . . 165 

English newspapers, 
commencement of, 121 
English painters of 
the present day, . 150 
English school of 
painting, rise of 
the, 149; distin¬ 
guished painters of 
the, . . 149, 150 

English war-cry in 
the middle ages, . 100 
English writers,noted 
for the profuse use 
of words from the 
Latin, 113; early, 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

114; from 1553 to 
1649, 118-121; from 
1649 to 1689, 121- 
124; from 1689 to 
1727,124-127; from 
1727 to 1760, 127- 
129; from 1760 to 
1800, 130-137 ; of 
the 19th century— 


Engraving, 

137-143 
. 157 

Entablature of 

a 

building, the, 

. 162 

Entozo'a, the, 

60 

Epic poetry, 81; 

the 

heroic epic, . 

. 81 

Epicte'tus, . . 

92 

Epicureans, the, 
Epicu'rus, . 

. 88 

88 

Epider'mis, the, 

. 68 

Equator, the, 

8 

Equinoctial points 

, the, 8 

Equinoxes, the, 

8 

Equity, 

174 


-courts in Eng¬ 
land, . . .174 

Era, an, 69 ; the 
Christian, 69; the 
Hebrew, 69 ; the 
Roman, 69 ; the 
Greek, 69; the Mo¬ 
hammedan, . . 69 

Erasmus, Desiderius, 111 
Erastianism, . .172 

E'rie, lake, . . 16 

Esculent plants, . 53 

Esquire, the distinc¬ 
tion of, . . 170 

Essayists, the British, 124 
Essenes, the, . . 78 

Etching, . . 157 

Ethics, ... 83 

Ethnology defined, 66 
Et'na, Mount, . 25, 26 
‘ Ettrick Shepherd,’ 
the, . . . 140 

Etymology defined, 76 
Eu'clid, . . 86, 88 

Euphuism, origin of 

the term, . . 118 

Eurip'ides, . . 84 

Europe, 12; principal 
rivers in, 16 ; prin¬ 
cipal countries in, 

17; highest moun¬ 
tain in, 18; popu¬ 
lation of, 21; vol- 


canoes in, . . 

26 

Euse'bius, . . 

94 

Evans, Miss, . 

141 

Evaporation, by what 


promoted, 31; ex¬ 


ample of, . . 

31 


195 ' 


PAGK 

Evelyn, John, . 122 

Evergreens, 54 ; ex¬ 
amples of, 54; how 
they shed their 
leaves, . . .54 

Exchange, bills of, 

182; rate of, 182; 
the Stock, . . lSS^' 

Exequatur of a consul, 175 
Exogenous trees, 54; 

examples of, . 54 

Exotic plants, 55 ; 
largely used in 
Great Britain, . 55 

Fableor, a, . . 103 

Fabliaux, . . 103 

Faculty, a learned, 185 

-, of arts, the, 

185; of divinity, the, 

185; of law, 185 ; 
of medicine, . 185 
Faed, Thomas, the 
painter, . . 151 

Fahrenheit’s ther¬ 
mometer, . . 31 

Fairfax, the poet, 119 
Fairies, ... 98 

Falconer, William, 130 

Falls of Niag'ara, 16 

Farquhar, . . 125 

Father of history, 
the, ... 85 

Father of tragedy, 
the, ... 84 

Fathers of the 
Church, the, . 94 

Feathers, bad electric 
conductors, . . 40 

February, origin of 
the name, . . 71 

Feli'dae, the, . 65 

Feltham, Owen, . 120 
Fenelon, . . 105 

Ferguson, Dr Adam, 134 

Fergusson, Robert, 135 

Ferns, ... 52 

Ferrier, Miss, . . 141 

Ferruginous springs, 26 

Festivals of the 
French revolution¬ 
ary calendar, . 73 

Fetish, a, . 98 

Fetishism, where 
prevalent, . . 98 

Fibrous plants, . 53 

Fichte, . . .110 

Fielding, Henry, . 129 

Fine Arts, the, . 144 
Fire-balls, . . 44 

Firmament, meaning 
of the, 4; colour of 
the, 


4 









196 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


PAGE 

Fishes, 63 ; nature 
of, ... 63 

Fixed Stars, . 3 

Havel, John, . . 123 

Flaxman, John, . 155 

Flemish school of 
painting, noted 
painters of the, . 148 
Fletcher, John, . 119 

Floreal, the month, 73 
Flor'ence, . . 18 

Florentine school of 
painting, head of 
the, . . .146 

Fh’, the, -why it can 
walk on the ceiling, 62 
Flying insects, legs 
of, ... 62 

Focus, the, . . 40 

Fogs, what they are, 

32; why they dis¬ 
appear in fine 
weather, 32 ; a 
common cause of 


them at sea, 

32 

Fontenelle, . 

Foote, Samuel, 

loG 

129 

l orces sustaining the 


planets, . 

6 

Fordoun, John cf, 
Fossils, . 

116 

22 

France, 17; capital 



of, 18 ; patron saint, 99 
Francis de Sales, . 104 

Frank'fort, . . 18 

Franklin, Benjamin, 143 
Free Church of Scot- 


land, 

. 172 

Freedom, 

67 

Freemasons, . 

. 98 

Free-trade, . 

. 184 

Freiligrath, 

. Ill 

French comedy, 

the 

creator of, . 

. 105 


French literature, 

103; the Augustan 
age of, . . . 104 

French names of the 
dny3 of the week, 
origin of the, . 72 

French revolutionary 
calendar, 73; names 
of the months ac¬ 
cording to the, 73; 
names of the days 
in a decade of the, 

73; festivals of the, 

73; decades of the, 

73; how long in 
use, ... 74 

French school of 
painting, leading 
. painters of the, . 147 


TAGE 

French tragedy, the 
creator of, . . 104 

French writers, sum¬ 
mary of, previous 
to the reign of 
Louis XIV., 103 ; 
during the reign of 
Louis XIV., 104; of 
the 18th century, 

106 ; 19th century, 106 
Fresco painting, '. 151 
Freytag, . . Ill 

Friction, cause of, 45; 
in moving bodies, 
methods adopted to 
overcome, . . 45 

Friday, origin of the 
name, . . .72 

Frieze, a, . . 162 

Frigid zones, 9; why 
so cold, . . 9 

Frimaire, the month, 73 
Frogs, early condi¬ 
tion of, . . 63 

Froissart, . . 103 

Frost, 30 ; use of, . 33 

Froude, J. A., . 141 

Fructidor, the month, 73 
Fruits, best known in 
Great Britain, . 55 

Fruit-trees, the more 
remarkable, . 55 

Fulcrum of a lever, 48 
Funds, the, . . 183 

Fungi, 52 ; edible, 

52 ; poisonous, 52 ; 
where they usually 
grow’, ... 52 

Fungous plants. (See 
Fungi.) 

Gainsborough, the 
painter, . . 150 

Galaxy, the, . 4 

Ga'len, ... 93 

Galile'o, . . 102 

Gall, Dr, . . .110 

Galland, M., . 96 

Gallery pictures, . 151 
Gallinaceous birds, 64 
Galt, John, . . 140 

Galva'ni, . . 42, 102 

Galvanic battery, a, 42 
Galvanism, 42 ; ori¬ 
gin of the word, 42, 102 
Gan'ges, the river, 19 
Garrick, David, . 135 
Garter, order of the, 

100; its origin, . 100 

Gay, John, . . 126 

Gebir, ... 97 

Gem'ini, . . 10 

General Assembly, the,171 


P 1 OR 

Genre pictures, . 151 
Gentleman's Maga- 
zine, the, . . 129 

Geography, what it 
teaches, . . 12 

Geology, 21; not an 
ancient science, . 27 

German language, 
the, ... 76 

German literature, 

108; general char¬ 
acter of recent, . Ill 
German school of 
painting, leading 
painters of the, . 147 

German writers, the 
most noted, . . 103 

Ger'many, 17; capi¬ 
tal of, . . . 18 

Germinal, the month, 73 
Gerusalemme' Liber- 
a'ta, . . . 101 

Geysers, . . 26 

Gliazels, ... 96 

Gheraerd, . . Ill 

Ghiberti, Lorenzo — 

154, 155 

Giant’s Causeway, . 22 

Gibbon, Edward, 113, 133 
Gifford, William, 136 
Gil Bias, . . .106 

Giotto, . . . 145 

Glacial action, . 33 

Glaciers, 33 ; origin 
of the word, . 33 

Glas'gow, . . 19 

Glass, a bad electric 

conductor, 40; its 
electrical power, . 40 

Glass-making, . 29 

Globe, the. (See Earth.) 
Gloucester, . ] 8 

Gnomes, ... 98 

Gnostics, the, . 78 

Goethe, . 109,111 

Gold, 24; often found 
in quartz, 24; alloyed, 27 
Golden number, the, 

74; why so called, 

74 ; how to find 
the, ... 74 

Goldsmith, Oliver, . 130 
Gospel, meaning of, 79 
Gothic architecture, 160 

- cathedral, the 

parts of a, . . 160 

Gower, John, . 114 

Graecas Calendas,’ ‘ad, 72 
Grahame, Rev. James, 140 
Grains, ... 53 

Grallato'res, the, 63; 

examples of, . 64 

Granite, . . 22 










INDEX, 


197 


page 

Grasses, 53 ; artificial, 53 
Grasshoppers, , . 62 

Gravel, , . 23 

Gravitation, . . 6 

(See Attraction of 
Gravitation.) 

Grav, Thomas, . 128 

Great Bear, the con¬ 
stellation, . . 3 

Great Britain. (See 
Britain , Great.) 

‘ Greatest happiness 
of the greatest 
number,’ author of 
the phrase, . . 137 

Greece, 17 ; capital 
of, 18; period dis¬ 
tinguished for 

philosophy and lit¬ 
erature in, 83; the 
seven wise men 
of, ... 83 

Greek architect, the 
most noted, . 159 
Greek architecture, 
origin of, 158 ; 
styles of, 158 ; 
period of, . . 158 

Greek calends,’ * at 
the, ... 72 

Greek era, the, . 69 

-language, the, 76 

-literature, . 83 

-painters, the 

most renowned of, 144 
Greek sculpture, the 
superiority of, to 
what ascribed, 152; 
when it attained 
perfection, . . 153 

Greek sculptures, 
celebrated, . 153, 154 
Greek year, the, . 69 

Greenock, . . 19 

Gregarious animals, 58 
Gregorian calendar, 
the, . . .70 

Gregorian chant, the, 163 
Greuze, . . . 147 

Grimm, the brothers, 111 
Groat, a, . . 182 

Grote, George, . 141 

Grotius, Hugo, 111, 172 
Ground-plan, a, . 162 

Grub Street writers, 124 
Guari'ni, . . . 102 

Guia'na, . . 20 

Guicciardi'ni, . . 101 

Guido Iteni, . 146 

Guinea in money, 
origin of the w'ord, 182 
Guizot, . . . 107 

Gulf, a, . . 14 


TAGE 

Gulf Stream, the, , 17 

Hafiz, ... 96 

Hail, what it is, . 32 

Hale, Sir Matthew, 123 
Hall, Joseph, . . 119 

-, Mrs S. C., . 141 

Hamilton, Sir Wil¬ 
liam, . . . 136 

Hamilton, William, 127 
Handel, , . .163 

Harleian collection, 
the, . . . 142 

Harlequin, origin of, 93 
Harley, Robert, Earl 
of Oxford, . ,142 

Haroun al liaschid, 96 
Harvey, George, . 151 
Hawthorne, Nathaniel— 
143 

Haydn, . . . 163 

Huzlitt, William, 139 
Heat, latent, 30 ; how 
produced, 80; ra¬ 
diation of, 31; ra¬ 
diation of, affected 
by colour, 31; ab¬ 
sorption of, de¬ 
pending on colour, 

31; good conduc¬ 
tors of, 31; in ice, 33 
Heathens, . . 68 


Hebrew era, the, 

69 

-language, the,76 

- literature, 


the best specimens 


of ancient, . 

77 

Hebrew musical in- 


struments, . 

163 

Hebrew Sabbath, 


origin of, 73; when 


begun, 

73 

Heb'rides, the, 

18 

Hec'la, Mount, 

26 

Heeren, . 

111 

Hegel, . 

110 

Hegi'ra, the, . 

69 

Heine, . 

111 

Helvetius, 

106 

Hemans, Mrs, 

140 

Hemispheres, . 

14 

Henry, Matthew, 

123 

Heraldry, 

179 

Herbaceous plants, 

54 

Herbert, . 

151 

Herder, 

111 

Hermann, 

111 

Herod'otus, . 

88 

Herrick, Robert, 

119 

Herschel, Sir John, 

141 

-, Sir William, 

136 

He'siod, . 

84 

Heylin, Peter, 

121 


PAG R 

Hill-forts, British, . 179 
Hills, 14; why they 
cause clouds, . 34 

Hilly countries, why 
the most rainy, . 34 

Hirnalay'a Moun¬ 
tains, the, , . 14 

Hindostani language, 
the, ... 76 

Hindu sacred books, 
ancient, . . 80 

Hindustan', 19; an¬ 
other name tor, . 19 

Hippoc'rates, . 85 

---, the Ro¬ 
man, ... 93 

Historical painting, 144 
History, the Father of, 88 
Hoadly, Dr Benja¬ 
min, , . .126 

Hoar frost, . . 32 

Hobbes, Thoma«, . 120 
Hobbima, . . 148 

Hoffman, . ,111 

Hogarth, the French, 14S 

-, William, . 149 

Hogg, James, . 140 

Holbein, . . .147 

Holcroft, Thomas, 132 
tlol'land, 17; capital 
of, . , . 18 

Holy orders, 170,171 
Ho'mer, ... 84 

‘ Honi soit qui mal y 
pense,’ . . 100 

Hood, Thomas, . 140 

Hooft, . . .112 

Hook, Theodore, . 140 

Hooker, Richard, . 120 
Ilor'ace, . . 91 

Horner, Francis, . 137 
Horology defined, 76 
Horsley, Dr Samuel, 13 $ 
Hot springs, . . 25 

Hours, the, how des¬ 
ignated, . . 75 

House of Commons, 
the, 166; number 
of members of the, 

168; the Speaker 
of the, . . .169 

House of Lords, num¬ 
ber of members of 
the, . . . 168 

Houses of parlia¬ 
ment, 166-169 ; 
chairmen in the, 168 
Howard, Henry, . 115 

Huber, Therese, . Ill 
Hugo, Victor, . 107 

Hull, ... 18 

Humber, the river, 16 

Humboldt, Alexander, 110 















198 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS, 


PAGE 

Humboldt, Karl Wil¬ 
helm, . . .110 

Hume, David, . 129 

Hungary, literature 
of, 112; use of the 
Latin language in, 112 
Hunt, Leigh, . . 140 

Hunter, John, . 136 

Hu'ron, lake, . . 16 

Hutton, James, . 136 

Huttonian theory, 
the, . . . 136 

Huygens, the astron¬ 
omer, . . .76 

Hybernating animals, 59 
Hydatid, the, . . 61 

Hyde, Edward, . 122 

Hydraulics, , . 45 

Hydrostatics, . 45 

Hygiene, . . 186 

Hymenop'tera, the, 62 

Ice, 30; heat in, 33; 
used as glass, 33; 
of sea-water not so 
salt as the water, 33 
Icebergs, 33; whence 
they come, 33 ; 
means of discover¬ 
ing the approach 
of, ... 34 

Iceland, . . 12 

Ideal in art, the, 152, 153 
Ides, . . .72 

Idyll, an, . . 81 

Igneous rocks, . 22 

Iliad, Homer’s, . 84 

Immortality of the 
soul, . . . 68 

Improvisato'ri, . 96 

Improvising, . . 96 

Inchbald, Mrs, . 132 

Inclined plane, the, 

47, 49 ; examples 
of the, ... 49 

In'dex Expurgato'- 
rius, the, . . 80 

Ind'ia, 19; situation 
of, 19 ; how go¬ 
verned, 19; chief 
cities in, 19 ; classi¬ 
cal language of, 76; 
law in, . .174 

Indian Ocean, the, 12 

- corn, 53 ; 

where largely used, 53 
Indigenous plants, . 55 

Indo-European lan¬ 
guages, the, . 76 

Indo-Germanic lan¬ 
guages, the, . 76 

Inertia of bodies, 46 
lufuso'ria, the, 59; 


tage 

appearance of the, 

60; how they pro¬ 
pagate, . . 60 

Inorganic bodies, 42 
Insec'ta, the, . 61 

Insectiv'ora, the, . 65 

Insects, orders of, 61; 
transformation, 62; 
antennae of, 62; 
eyes of, 62; legs of 
flying, 62; spinning, 62 
Insesso'res, the, 63; 

examples of, . 64 

Instinct, . . 66 

Intercalary day, an, 69 
International law, 

172; authorities on, 172 
Inverness', . . 19 
Ireland, 12 ; its lakes, 

16 ; its rivers, 16 ; 
its general cha¬ 
racter, 19; its chief 


towns, 19 ; patron 


saint of, 

99 

Ireland, W. II., his 


forgeries, 

135 

Iron, cause of rust in, 

29 

Ironstone, 

22 

Irving, Washington, 

143 

Islands, 12; the prin- 


cipal, 12; volcanic. 

26 

Italian literature, 


when it begins, . 

101 

Italian painters, two 


of the noted early, 

145 

Italian pottery, 

156 

-schools of 


painting, the three 


greatest painters of 


the, . 

145 

Italian sculptors, 154, 

155 

- writers, sum- 


mary of the chief, 

101 

It'aly, 17; capital of, 

18 

Jamai'ca, . . 12 

, 21 

James I. of Scotland, 

116 

-V. of Scotland, 

117 

-VI. of Scotland, 

117 

-, G. P. R., . 

140 

Jamesone, George, 

150 

Jan Steen, 

148 

January, origin of the 


name, . 

71 

Japan',. 

19 

Jarden, Karl du, 

148 

Jasmin, 

107 

Ja'va, 

12 

Jeffrey, Francis, . 

137 

Jenner, Edward, 

136 

Jerome, 

94 

Jerrold, Douglas, . 

141 

Jerusalem, . 

20 


FAGB 

‘Joe Miller,’ . .127 

John of Eordoun, 116 
Johnson, Dr Samuel- 
113, 128 

Joint-stock undertak¬ 
ings, . . .183 

Jones, Inigo, . 161 

-, Sir William, 131 

Jonson, Ben, . . 119 

Judges, the appoint¬ 
ment of, . .175 

Ju'lius Cas'sar, 91; 

his calendar, . 69 

Julian Calendar, 69; 
defect of the, 69; 
abolished, . . 70 

July, origin of the 
name, ... 72 

June, origin of the 
name, ... 72 

Ju'piter, the planet, 

2 ; colour of, 3; 

satellites of, . . 5 

Jurisprudence, . 172 

Jury, a, 175; trial 
by, 175, 176; the 
grand,. . . 176 

Jussieu, Laurent de, 

53, 106; his clas¬ 
sification of plants— 

53,107 

Justinian, the code of, 173 

Kangaroo, the, . 64 

Kant, Immanuel,. 109 

Kantian philosophy, 109 
Karamsin, . * . 112 
Karl du Jarden, , 148 

Kat'rine, loch, . 19 

Keats, John, . 14(» 

Kemble, John, . 135 

-, Sarah, . 135 

Kempis, Thomas h, 95 
Kepler, . . . 108 

Kepler’s Laws, . 109 

Killarney, lakes of, 16 

Kit-cat pictures, . 151 
Klopstock, . . 110 
Kneller, Sir Godfrey, 151 


Knight, Charles, 

. 142 

Knowledge, Society 

for the Diffusion 

of 

Useful, . 

. 142 

Knox, John, 

117 

Kock, Paul de, 

. 107 

Koran, the, . 

80 

Korner, . 

. Ill 

Kotzebue, 

110 

Labruyere, 

. 105 

Lac of rupees, a, . 

182 

Lactan'tius, 

. 94 

Lafontaine, . , 

105 



















INDEX, 


199 


PAGE 

La Harpe, . . 106 

* Lake School ’ of 
poets, the, . . 138 

Lakes of North Ame¬ 
rica, . , .16 

Lamartine, . . 107 

Lamb, Charles, . 138 

Lumennais, . . 107 

Lancaster, the Duchy 
of, ... 175 

Land, extent of the, 

12 ; how divided 
12; features of the, 14 
Landscape painting, 144 
Landseers, the, . 150 

Lane, Dr Edward, 96 
Languages in the 
world, number of, 

76; the Semitic, 76; 
the Indo-Germanic 
or Indo-European, 

76; the classical, 

76 ; the divarica¬ 
tion of, . . . 77 

Larva, the, . . 62 

Lassen, . . . Ill 

Latin language, the, 

76; when it began 
to be superseded, 

94; where still used 
as a written and 
spoken language, 112 
Latin, Patristic, . 94 

Latitude, . . 14 

Lava, ... 25 

Lavater, . . 109 

Lavoisier, . . 106 

Law, international, 

172; martial, 172; 
common, 173; Eng¬ 
lish, 173; the can¬ 
on, 173; Roman 
civil, 173; in Great 
Britain, 174 ; in 

India, 174; in the 
British colonies, 

174; in Scotland, 

175 ; of demand 
and supply, 184 ; 
the faculty of, . 185 

Lawrence, Sir Thomas- 
150 

Laws of nature, . 1 

Leap-year, why so 
called, 70; how to 
know a, . . 70 

Learned faculty, a, 185 
Learning, medieval, 94 
Le Brun, Charles, . 147 
Lee, Sophia and Har¬ 
riet, . . 132 

Leeds, ... 18 

Leguminous crops, 53 


PAGE 

Leibnitz, . . .109 

Leipsic, staple trade of,108 
Leith, ... 19 

Leland, John, . 115 

Lely, Sir Peter, . 149 
Lens, a, 39; focus of a, 39 
Le'o, ... 10 

Leonardo da Vinci, 145 
Lepidop'tera, the, . 62 

Lepsius, . . Ill 

Lesage, . , . 106 

Leslie, Charles, . 126 

Lessing, . . . 109 

Leuwenhoek, . 112 

Lever, the, 47, 48; 
p'ower how modified 
by, 48; fulcrum of a, 

48; examples of the, 48 
Leyden, John, . 140 

Liberty of the press— 

83, 143 

Li'bra, ... 10 

Library, origin of the 
word, ... 79 

Libretto of an opera, 82 
Lichens, .. .. . 52 

Lich'field, . . 18 

Liebig, Baron,. . 110 

Liffey, the river, . 16 

Light, the source of, 

38; rate at which 
it travels, 38; time 
it takes to reach 
the earth, 38; re¬ 
fraction of, 38; re¬ 
flection of, 38; pol¬ 
arisation of, 39 ; 
uses of, 39; artifi¬ 
cial, 39; phosphor¬ 
escent, ... 40 

Lightning, 41; injury 
to buildings from, 
how averted, . 41 

Lillo, ... 126 

Lilly, William, . 97 

Lim'erick, . . 19 

Limestone, . . 22 

Linc'oln, . . 18 

Linnsean system of 
botany, . . 53 

Linnae'us, . . 52,109 

Linne, Karl, . . 109 

Lis'bon, . . 18 

Literature, 77; an¬ 
cient, of what it 
chiefly consists, 77; 
Rabbinical, 78; the 
two great varieties 
of, 80; Greek, 83 ; 
Roman, 90; Ara¬ 
bic, 95 ; Ital¬ 
ian, 101 ; Portu¬ 
guese, 102; Spaa- 


PAGE 

ish, 102; French, 

103; German, 108 ; 
Dutch, 111; Rus¬ 
sian, 112 ; Mag- 
var or Hungarian, 

112; English, 113; 
how promoted in 
the 15th century, 

115 ; commence¬ 
ment of cheap,142; 
pioneers of pop¬ 
ular, 142 ; recent 
remarkable change 
in, 142; American, 143 
Littleton, Sir Thomas, 174 
Liverpool, . . 18 

Liv'y, ... 91 

LL.D., . . .187 

Lloyd’s, . 180, 181 

Loadstone, the, . 41 

Lobsters, . . 61 

Lochs, . . .19 

Locke, John, . 122 

Lockhart, J. G., . 140 

Logarithms, the dis¬ 
coverer of, . .117 

Logic, ... 83 

Lo'mond, loch, . 19 

London, . . 18 

Lon'donderrv, . . 19 

Longfellow, H. W., 143 

Longin'ius, . . 90 

Longitude, . . 14 

Lope de Ve'ga,. . 102 

Lord Advocate, the, 176 
Lords spiritual, . 168 
Lovelace, Richard, 119 
Lover, Samuel, . 140 
Lowell, J. R., . 143 

Lowth, Dr William, 126 
Lu'can, ... 92 

Lu'cian, . . 90 

Lucre'tius, . . 91 

Lunacy, origin of the 
term, ... 12 

Lunar cycle, a, . 74 

-month, 11,71 

rainbow, a, . 39 


Lyce'um, origin of 
the word, . . 85 

Lyell, Sir Charles, 141 

Lyly, John, . . 118 

Lyndsay, Lady Anne, 135 
, Sir David, 116 


Lyric poetry, 81; va¬ 
rieties of, . . 81 

Lysippus, . . 154 

Lyttleton, Lord, . 128 

Lytton, Sir Edward 
Bulwer, . . 141 

Macaulay, Lord, . 141 

MacchiavelTi, . 101 












200 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS, 


PAGE 

MacCulloch, Horatio, 
the painter, . . 151 

Machinery, examples 
of mechanical pow¬ 
ers in, 49; special 
use of, . . 49 

Mackenzie, Henry, 132 
Maclise, . . . 151 

Macneill, Hector, 136 
Macpherson, James, 130 
Macro'bius, . . 93 

Madagas'car, . 12 

Madei'ra, . . 12 

Madras', . . 19 

Madrid', ... 18 

Magazines, the first 
English, . . 129 

Maggots, how brought 
in to connection with 
decaying substances, 57 
Magnetic poles of the 
earth, ... 41 

Magnetism, . . 41 

Magnets, artificial, . 41 

Magyar language, the, 112 

-literature, . 112 

Mahogany-tree, . 55 

Maize. (See Indian 
Corn.) 

Majolica, . . 156 

Malayan race de¬ 

scribed, 67 ; why 
so called, . . 67 

Malebranche, . 105 

Mallet, David, 127, 128 
Mal'strom whirlpool, 
the, ... 17 

Malt, ... 53 

Mamma'lia, the, 63; 
nature of, 64 ; 
orders of the, 64, 

65; swimming, . 65 

Man, his place in the 
animal creation, 56, 

66 ; his duty to the 
lower animals, 56; 
difference between 
his intelligence and 
that of the lower 
animals, 66; to 
what order of ani¬ 
mals assigned, 66; 
why said to be an 
accountable being, 

66; races of, 66 ; 
examples of the 
races of, 67; cir¬ 
cumstances that 
tend to degrade 
the races of, 68; 
of what he consists, 

68; present state 
of mankind, . 68 


PAGE 

Man, Isle of, . . 19 

Manchester,. . 18 

Mandeville, Sir John, 114 
Map of the world, 13 

Maps, how construct¬ 
ed, 15 ; what they 
represent, . . 15 

Marble, 23; Parian, 23 
March, origin of the 
name, ... 71 

Marine painting, 144 
Mariner’s compass, 
the, 15, 42 ; its 
needle, how made 
to turn, 15; points 
of the, ... 15 

Marlowe,Christopher, 118 
Marmontel, . . 106 

Mars, the planet, 2; 

colour of, . 3 

Marseillaise, the, 165 
Marsupia'lia, the, . 64 

Martial law, . 172 

Masonic Guilds of the 
middle ages, . 98 

Massillon, . . 105 

Massinger, Philip, 119 

Materia Medica, . 186 
Matter, defined, 42; 
density of, 42 ; 
not destructible, 

42; examples of 
it assuming new 
shapes, . . 43 

Mauritius, . . 12 

Mausoleum, origin of 
the word, . . 94 

May, origin of the 

name, ... 72 

Mayne, James, . 140 

M‘Culloch, J. It., . 141 
M.D., ... 187 

Mean time, . . 75 

‘ Mechanical combina¬ 
tion of substances,’ 50 
Mechanical powers, 

47 ; examples of, 
in machinery, . 48, 49 
Medical jurisprudence— 
186 

Medicinal plants, . 53 

Medicine, the faculty 
of, ... 185 
Medieval learning and 
arts, ... 94 

Mediterra'nean Sea, 

12; has very little 
tide, and why, . 17 

Medu'sse, the, 60; use 
of, ... 60 

Mendel, David, . 110 

Mendelssohn, . . 164 

Mental philosophy, 83 


TAGS 

Mercantile consuls. 

(See Consuls.) 

Mer'cury, the planet, 

2; colour of, . 3 

Meridian, the, . 7 

Merle, Jean Henri, 10? 
Mersey, the river, . 16 

Messidor, the month, 73 
Metals, the principal, 

24 ; good electric 
conductors, . . 40 

Metaphysics, . 83 

Metasta'sio, . . 102 

Metempsychosis, au¬ 
thor of the doc¬ 
trine of, . . 85 

Meteorolites, 44; why 
luminous, . . 44 

Meteorology, . 42 

Meteors, .' . . 41 

Meton, . . 74 

Metonic cycle, a, . 74 

Metre, ... 82 

Metropolis, a, . . 18 

Mex'ico, . . 20 

Meyerbeer, . .164 

Michael Angelo, 145, 146 
Michelet, . . lo7 

Mickle, William, 131 
Microscope, the, . 40 

Middle ages, fancies 
regarding the un¬ 
seen world preva¬ 
lent in the, 97 ; fa¬ 
bulous animals of 
the, 99 ; saints of 
the, 99 ; English 
war-cry in the, 100 
Mildew, ... 52 

Milky Way, the, . 4 

Mill, John Stuait, . 141 
Miller, Hugh, . 141 

-,Joe, . . 127 

Millet, 53 ; where 
largely used, . 53 

Milton, John, . 121 

Mi'mi, the, . . 93 

Mimicry, origin of 
the word, . . 93 

Mind, the, 68; the 
seat of the, . . 68 

Mineral springs, . 26 

Mineralogy, 24; as 
known to the an¬ 
cients, ... 27 

Minerals, . . 24 

Miracle plays, . 98 

Mississippi' the river, 16 
Missou'ri, the river, 15 
Mist, what it is, 32; 
why it disappears 
in fine weather, 32; 
why it sometimes 







INDEX, 


201 


PAGE 

disappears sudden¬ 
ly while rolling 
along hills, . . 32 

Mite, the, 63 ; legs of, 

63; how it breathes, 63 
Mitford, Miss, . 141 

Mohammedan era, the, 69 
Moisture exhaled into 
the atmosphere, 
what becomes of it, 32 
Moisture on the inside 
of glass-windows, 
how caused, . 32 

Molidre, . . 105 

Mollus'ca, the,. 57, 61 

Momentum, . 47 

Mommsen, . .Ill 
Mo'mus, . . 93 

Monarchy in Great 
Britain a national 
institution, why, 169 
Monday, origin of the 
name, ... 72 

Money, origin of the 
word, . . . 181 

Mongolian race, de¬ 
scribed, 67; w hy so 
called, ... 67 

Monopoly, . . 184 

Monotrem'ata, the, . 65 

Montagu, Lady Mary 
Wortley, . . 126 

Montaigne, . . 104 

Montesquieu, Baron 
de, . . .106 

Montgomery, Alex¬ 
ander, . . . 117 

Montgomery, James, 140 
Month, origin of the 
term, 71; a lunar, 

11, 71; a calendar, 

71; a civil, 71; the, 
how divided by the 
ltomans, . . 72 

Monthly Review, the, 137 
Months, origin of the 
names of the, 71 ; 
the, when named 
and arranged, 71; 
how named in the 
French revolution¬ 
ary calendar, . 73 

Montreal', . . 21 

Moon, the, 5 ; its size, 

5; its substance, 

10; its light, 10; its 
mountains and val¬ 
leys, 10; not inha¬ 
bited, 10; its. mo¬ 
tions, 10; why we 
never see more 
than one side of 
it, 11; its phases, 


PAGE 

11; eclipse of the, 
how caused, . 11 

Moore, Dr John, 133 

-, Thomas, . 138 

Moraine, a, . . 33 

Moral Philosophy, . 83 

More, Hannah, . 134 

-, Sir Thomas, 115 

Morgan, Lady, . 141 

Moser, . . .111 

Mosheim, . . 109 

Moss, Thomas, . 131 

Mosses, . . 52 

Motion, tendency of 
a body in a state of, 46 
Mould, ... 52 

Mountain, highest in 
Europe, 18; the 
highest in Great 
Britain, . . 19 

Mountainous coun¬ 
tries, w’hy the most 
rainy, ... 34 

Mountains, 14; cause 
of, 23; why they 
cause clouds, 34; 
tops of high, why 
perpetually covered 
with snow, . . 34 

Mozart,. . . 163 

Mule, ... 58 

Muller, ... Ill 
Mulock, Miss, . . 141 

Mulready, the painter, 150 
Mum, origin of the 
word, ... 98 

Mummeries,. . 98 

Mummery, origin of 

the word, . . 99 

Murchison, Sir Rode¬ 
rick I., . . . 141 

Murillo, . . 149 

Music, 163; of the 
ancients, 163; na¬ 
tional, 165; Scot¬ 
tish, . . . 165 

Musical composers, 
the great modern, 163 
Musical instruments 
of the Hebrews, . 163 
Mysteries, . . 98 

Names of the days of 
the week, origin of 
the, 72; employed 
in the records of 
parliament, . . . 72 

Names of the days in 
a decade of the 
French revolution¬ 
ary calendar, . 73 

Names of the months, 
origin of the, . 71 


PAGE 

Names of the months 
in the French revo¬ 
lutionary calendar, 73 
Naphtha, . . 26 

Napier, John, . 117 

Naples, patron saint of, 99 
Nasmyth, Alexander, 150 
Natato'res, the, 63; 
the best known, . 63 


Nation, a, . . 

17 

National music, . 

165 

Natural philosophy, 


definition of, 

50 


Nature, 1; the laws 


of, 1; the balance of, 
57 ; instance of its 
derangement by 


man, 

57 

Nave, the, . 

160 

Neander, . . . 

110 

Neap tide, a, 

16 

Negro race, described, 

67; colour of the. 

how accounted for, 

68 

Neo-Platonism, . 

89 

Ne'pos, Cornelius, 

92 

Nep'tune, the planet, 

2 

Neptunian theory, the, 

137 

Netherlands,language 

and literature of the, 

111 

New Bruns'wick, 

19 

Newcastle, . 

18 

Newfoundland, 

12 

New Orleans, . . 

21 

Newspapers, their 

first appearance in 

England, 

121 

‘New Style,'difference 
between the old and 
the, 70; howadopti d 

in Great Britain, . 

70 

Newton, Sir Isaac, 

124 

New World, the, 20; 

its discoverers. 

20 

New Year’s-day, when 
changed to 1st Janu- 

ary, 

71 

New York, . 

21 

-Zealand, . 12 

, 19 

Niag'ara, falls of, 

16 

Nibelungen-lied, the, 

108 

Niebuhr, . 

110 

Nile, the river, 

20 

Nim'bus in art, the. 

151 

-, the cloud, 

34; when seen most 

perfectly, . 

31 

Nitrogen, . 

29 

Nivose, the month, 

73 

Nobility, the, . 

166 

Nones, . . . 

72 

Nonidi, the dav, 

73 

Noon, meaning of, 

7 







202 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS, 


PAGE 

Norman variety of 
Gothic architecture, 161 
Northamptonshire 
Peasant, the, . 140 

Northern Ocean, . 12 

North Star,the,3; how 
known, 3; how useful, 4 
Nostroda'mus, . 97 

Nova Sco'tia, . . 19 

Novels, sensational, 142 
November, origin of 
the name, . . 72 

Number, the Golden, 74 
(See Golden.) 

‘Number the origin 
of all things,’ author 
of the doctrine, . 85 

Numismatics, . 181 

Oats, 53; uses of, . 53 

Occult arts, . . 97 

Ocean, an, 12; ex¬ 
amples of, 12; depth 
of the, 16; nature 
of the water of the, 

16 ; tides of the, 16; 
how otherwise agi¬ 
tated, 17; currents, 17 
Octidi, the day, . 73 

October, origin of the 
name, ... 72 

Ode, an, . . 81 

Odyssey , Homer’s, . 84 

Ohi'o, the river, . 16 

Oil, how formed in 

the earth, 26 ; para- 
fine, ... 26 

Oil-painting, . 144 

--springs, 26; where 

found, ... 26 

‘Old style,’ 70; differ¬ 
ence between it and 
the new style, 70 ; 
people that still ad- 


here to, . . 

70 

Olympiad, the first, 

69 

OntaTio, lake, 

16 

Opera, an, 82; the 


libretto of an, 82; 


an Italian, . 

164 

Opie, John, . 

150 

-, Mrs, 

141 

Ophid'ia, the, 

63 

Optics defined, 

39 

Oratorio, an, , 

164 

Orchideous plants, . 

54 

Order of the Garter, 


100; origin of the, 

100 

‘ Orders in Council,’ 

166 

Ores, . . . 

24 

Orford, Earl of, . 

132 

Organic bodies, 

42 

Orientals, 

20 


PAGE 

Or'igen, ... 94 

Ori'on, the constella¬ 
tion, ... 3 

Orion’s Belt, . 3 

Ork'ney Isles, . . 18 

Orlan'do Furio'so, 101 

- Innamora'to, 101 

Ornithorhyn'chus, the, 65 
Orthop'tera, the, . 62 

Ostade, . 14S, 149 

Otway, Thomas, . 122 
Overbury, Sir Thomas, 120 
Ov'id, ... 91 

Oviparous animals, 58 
Ovoviparous animals, 59 
Owen, John, . . 123 

—-—, Richard, . 141 

Owenson, Miss, . 141 
Oxford,... 18 

-, Earl of, . 142 

Oxygen, . . 29 

‘Oyer and terminer,’ 174 

Pachyder'mata, the, 65 
Pacific Ocean, the, . 12 

Pagans, . . 68 

Painted glass - win¬ 
dows in Eui-ope, 
date of the oldest, 152 
Painting, 144; lead¬ 
ing departments of, 

144 ; schools of, . 145 
Pairing animals, . 58 

Palla'dio, 161; the 
English, . . 161 

Palaeontology, . 22 

Palseothe'rium, the, 22 
Paley, Dr William, . 133 
Palimpsests,. . 79 

Palissy, Bernard, . 156 
Palm, Van der, . 112 

Palmerston, Lord, . 123 
Pantomi'mi, the, . 93 

Pantomime, origin of 

the word, . . 93 

Papal dominions, 18; 

capital of, .18 

Paper, origin of word, 79 
Papyrus, , . . 79 

Par, .... 183 
Paracel'sus, . . 97 

Paradise Lost, . 121 
Parafine-oil, . 26 

Par'aguay, . . 20 

Parasitic animals, 59; 

plants, ... 59 

Parian marble, . 23 

Paris, 18; patron 

saint of, . . 99 

Park, Mungo, . 134 

Parliament, names of 
the days of the week 
employed in the re- 


PAGE 

cords of, 72; Houses 
of, 166-169 ; a ses¬ 
sion of, 168; dura¬ 
tion of, 168; Houses 
of, chairmen in the, 


168; an act of, 

• 

169 

Parmen'ides, 


88 

Parnell, Thomas, 

# 

126 

Pa'ros, . . . 


23 

Pascal, Blaise, . 


104 

Pathology, . . 


186 

Patois, a, . 

# 

77 

Paton, Noel, the 


painter, 

• 

151 

Patristic Latin, . 


94 

Patron saints, . 

• 

99 

Paul de la Roche, 


148 

Paulding, J. K., . 


143 

Paulus, . 

• 

110 

Paul Veronese, 


146 

Pausa'nias, . 

• 

89 

Pearson, . . 


123 

Pebbles, . 

# 

23 

Pecuniary, origin 

of 

181 

the word, 



Pediment of a build¬ 
ing, the, . . 162 

Peerage, the, 166; 
grounds on which 
persons are raised 
to the, 167; ranks in 
the, 167; national 
distinctions in the, 167 
Peers, by whom cre¬ 
ated, . . . 166 

Pendulum, a, 44; how 
affected by attrac¬ 
tion, 44; how regu¬ 
lated, 44; when in¬ 
troduced, . . 76 

Peninsula, a, . 14 

Penny, origin of the 
word, . . . 182 

Pepys, Samuel, . 122 

Percy, Dr Thomas, 130 

Perennial plants, . 54 

Perian'der of Corinth, 83 
Per'icles, . .153 

Perigal, the painter, 151 
Peripatetic phil¬ 
osophy, . . 85 

Peripatetics, . 85 

Per'sia, ... 19 

Persian language, the, 76 
Perspective, . . 144 

Perth, ... 19 

Peru', ... 20 

Peter Pindar, . 131 

Pe'trarch, . . 101 

-, the English, 118 

Petroleum, . . 26 

Pewter, ... 27 

Phae'don, . . 86 










index. 203 


PAGE 

Phte'drns, . . 92 

Pharmacopoeia, a, 1S6 

Pharmacy, . . 186 

Phid'ias, . . 153 

Philadelphia, . 21 

Philippe de Comines, 103 
Philips, Ambrose, . 126 

-, John, . 121 

Phillip, John, the 

painter, . . 151 

Philology defined, 76 

Philosopher’s stone, 
the, ... 96 

Philosophy, 83; men¬ 
tal, 83; moral, 83; 
peripatetic, 85; the 
Scotch school of, . 136 
Phoci'dae, the, . 65 

Phosphorescent light, 40 
Photography, . . 151 

Phrenology, the 

founder of, . . 110 

Physalis, the, . 60 

Physics, definition of, 50 
Pibroch, a, . . 164 

Pictures, different 
kinds of, . . 151 

Piece of eight, a, . 182 

Pigeon tribes, the, . 64 

Pigments, . . 144 

Pillar dollar, the, . 182 
Pin'dar, . . 84 

-, Peter, . 131 

Pine-trees, . . 55 

Pipes for "warming 
houses, why painted 
black, ... 31 

Pis'ces, the sign, . 10 

• , the, . . 6 o 

Pistil of a plant, . 51 

Pit'tacus, . . 83 

Plains, . . 14 

Planets, the, 2; their 
size, 2; their num¬ 
ber, 2; the largest 
of the, 2; the prin¬ 
cipal, 2; what they 
are, 2; how distin¬ 
guished from stars, 

2, 3; their colours, 

3; the most beau¬ 
tiful of the, 3 ; 
secondary, 5; how 
sustained in the 
heavens, 6; their 
shape, ... 6 

Plans of buildings, 162 
Plantigrade quadru¬ 
peds, ... 59 

Plants, how pro¬ 
duced, 50; kinds 
of, 51; their kind of 
life, 51; how nour- 


PAGE 

ished, 51; effect of 
light on, 51; use 
of the air to, 51; 
their seeds, how 
produced, 51; seeds 
of, how they grow, 

51; vitality of the 
seeds of, 51; cryp- 
togamous, 51, 52; 
their seeds, how 
diffused by nature, 

52; that fling their 
seeds from them 
when ripe, 52; 
fungous, 52; clas¬ 
sification of, 52, 

53 ; esculent, 53; 
cereal, 53; fibrous, 

53; medicinal, 53; 
leguminous, 53 ; 
bulbous, 54 ; an¬ 
nual, 54; biennial, 

54; perennial, 54; 
herbaceous, 54 ; 
orchideous, 54; ex¬ 
otic, 55 ; exotics 
used in Great Brit¬ 
ain, 55; indigen¬ 
ous, 55; acclima¬ 
tising of, 55; par¬ 
asitic, ... 59 

(See Trees, Fruits .) 
Plastic arts, the, . 152 
Pla'to, . . .86, 87 

Platonic affection, . 87 

Plau'tus, . . 90 

Playing-cards in¬ 
vented, . . 157 

Plinth of a column, 
the, . . . 162 

Plin'y the Elder,. 92 

-Younger, 93 

Ploti'nus, . . 89 

Plough, constella¬ 
tion of the, . . 3 

Plumb-line, the, . 43 

Plu'tarch, . . 89 

Plutonic theory, the, 137 
Pluviose, the month, 73 
Plymouth, . . 18 

P. M., ... 75 

Pneumatics, . . 35 

Poo, Edgar Allan, 143 
Poet-laureate, the 
office of, . . 142 

Poetry defined, 80; 
principal kinds of, 

80; epic, 81; lyric, 

81; dramatic, . 81 

Poetry of the Anti- 
Jacobin, . . 136 

Points of the Com¬ 
pass, ... 15 


FAGE 

Polar regions, 9 ; 

why so cold, . 9 

Pole, meaning of the 
term, ... 8 

Pole Star, the, 3 ; 
how known, 3; how 
useful, ... 4 

Poles, the North and 
South, ... 8 

Political economy, 183 
Pollen of a plant, . 51 

Polyb'ius, . . 89 

-, the Italian, 101 

Pol'ypi, the, . . 60 

Pope, Alexander, 125 
Population of Europe, 21 

-the 

world, ... 21 

Poquelin, . . 105 

Porphyr'ius, . . 89 

Portland vase, the, 156 
Portrait painting, . 144 
Portsmouth, . 18 

Portugal, 17; capital 
of, . . . 18 

Portuguese literature, 102 
Positivism, 108 ; 

founder of, . . 108 

Post meridian, . 75 

Potato, the, when 
introduced into 
Europe, . . 53 

Potter, Paul, . 148 

Pound in money, 
origin of the word, 181 
Poussin, Nicholas, . 147 
Prairial, the month, 73 
Praxit'eles, . . 154 

Precedence, scale of, 170 
Premium, . . 183 

Pre-Raphaelite pic¬ 
tures, . . . 151 

Prescott, \V. H., . 143 

Press, liberty of the, 

143; its freedom in 
the United Kingdom,143 
Preston, . . .13 

Prideaux, Dr Hum¬ 
phrey, . . .126 

Priestley, Joseph, 136 

Prime minister in 
England, . . 166 

Primidi, the day,. 73 

Primogeniture, the 
rule of, . .167 

Pri'mum mobi'le, the, 86 
Printing introduced 
into England, . 115 
Prior, Matthew, . 125 

Prism, the, . . 38 

Prismatic colours, 38 

Prisoners of war, . 172 
Privy Council, the, 166 













204 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS, 


PAGE 

Procurator fiscal, . 176 
Promontory, a, . 14 

Proper'tius, . . 91 

Protective policy in 
trade, . . . 184 

Pius'sia, 17; capital 
of, ... 18 

Psychology,. . 83 

Ptolemaic system of 
astronomy, . . 86 

Pudding-stone, . 23 

Puffendorf, 109, 172 
Pulley, the, . . 49 

Pulse crops, . 53 

l’ura'nas, the, . . 80 

Pushkin, . . 112 

Pyrenees', the, . 14 

Pythag'oras, . 84 

Quadruma'na, the, . 66 

Quadrupeds, digiti- 
grade, 59; planti¬ 
grade, ... 59 

Quarterly Review, 

the, . .136, 137 

Quartidi, the day, 73 
Quartz, ... 24 

Quebec', . . 21 

Queve'do, . . 103 

Quintidi, the day, 73 
Quintil'ian, . . 93 

Rabbinical literature, 78 
Rabelais, . . 103 

Races of man, 66; 
examples of the, 

67 ; circumstances 
that tend to degrade 
the, ... 68 

Racine, Jean, . 105 

Radcliffe, Mrs, . 133 
Radia'ta, the, . 57 

Raeburn, Sir Henry, 150 
Rain, how produced, 

32 ; why heavy 
rains occur in 
warm as well as 

in cold weather, 

32 ; use of, 32; why 
hilly countries are 
the most rainy, . 34 

Rainbow, the, 38 ; 

its colours, how 

produced, 39; a 
lunar, 39; when 
seen on a small 
scale, ... 39 

Ramsay, Allan, . 127 

Ranke, . . . Ill 

Ranz des Vaclies, 
the, . . . 165 

Raphael, 145 ; his 
cartoons, . . 145 


PAGE 

Raptor'es, the, 63 ; 

birds included in, 64 
Rasor'es, the, 63 ; 
nature of, 64; ex¬ 
amples of, . . 64 

Raumer, Von, . Ill 
Ray, John, . .124 

ltaynal, . . 106 

Reasoning, the So- 
cratic method of, 86 
Red Sea, the, . . 12 

Reid, Dr Thomas, 136 
Reinliard, . . 110 

Rembrandt, . . 148 

Renaissance, the, 100 
-archi¬ 
tecture, . . 161 

Rennie, John, . 162 

Reptiles, 63; nature 
of, 63; orders of, 63 
Reptil'ia, the, . . 63 

Re'te muco'sum, the, 63 
Retina of the eye, 39; 
images of objects, 
how condensed on 
the, ... 39 

‘ Revenons 5. nos mou- 
tons,’ author of, 105 
Review , the, . 124, 125 

Revieio , the Edin¬ 
burgh, . . . 137 

Review, first English, 137 
Review, the Monthly, 137 

-, the Quarterly, 137 

Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 149 
Rhetoric, . . 185 

Rhine, the river, . 16 

Rhinoceros, the, . 65 

Rhone, the river, . 16 

Rhyme, 82 ; anti¬ 
quity of, . . 82 

Rice, 53; where large¬ 
ly used, . . 53 

Richard of Cirences¬ 
ter, . . . 115 

Richardson, Samuel, 129 
Rich'mond, North 
America, . . 21 

Richter, . . Ill 

Rights, civil, . . 67 

River, the largest in 
the world, . . 15 

Rivers of Europe, 16 
- of Great Bri¬ 
tain, ... 16 

Rivers of Ireland, 16 
-of North Ame¬ 
rica, . . .16 

Roberts, David, . 150 

Robertson, Dr Wil¬ 
liam, . . . 133 

Rochefoucauld, . 105 

Roche, Paul de la, 148 


PAGE 

Rocks, in what forms 
found, 21 ; strati¬ 
fied, 21, 22; unstra¬ 
tified, 21, 22; aque¬ 
ous, 22; igneous, 

22 ; sedimentary, 

22 ; volcanic, 22; 
Silurian, 23; calca¬ 
reous, 23; siliceous, 24 
Rocky Mountains, the, 14 
Roden'tia, the, . 65 

Rogers, Samuel, . 137 

Rollin, . . .106 

Roman architecture, 
character of, . 159 

Roman camps, . 179 

-civil law, the, 173 

-era, the, . 69 

-Hippocrates, 

the, ... 93 

Roman literature, the 
most brilliant pe¬ 
riod of, . . 90 

Roman names and 
arrangement of the 
months, . . 71 

Roman school of 
painting, head of 
the, . . . 145 

Roman sculpture, cha¬ 
racter of, . . 154 

Roman years, how 
reckoned, . . G9 

Romance, origin of 
the word, . . 99 

Romances of the 
middle ages, 99; 
why so called, . 99 

Romans, the, how they 
divided the month, 72 
Romans distinguished 
for literature, &c.; 
summary of, . 90 

Romans, the, not so 
distinguished for 
philosophy and li¬ 
terature as the 
Greeks, . . 90 

Rome, 18; traditionary 
date of the founda¬ 
tion of, . . 69 

Ronsard, . . 104 

Rope-dancers, how 
they preserve their 
equilibrium, . 47 

Rosa Bcnheur, . 148 

Ros'cius, . . .90 

Roscommon, Earl of, 121 
Rosen, . . .Ill 

Rosetta Stone, the, 177 

Rosicru'cians, the, 97 

| Rossi'ni, . . .164 

I Rotif'era, the, . 60 













INDEX, 


PAGE 

Round towers, . 179 

Rousseau, . . 106 

Rowe, . . . 126 
Royal Academy, the, 150 
- Scottish Aca- 


demy, the, 

• • 

150 

Rubens, 

• 

148 

Riickert, . 

# . 

111 

ltuisdaal, . 

148, 

149 

‘ Rule Britannia,’ 

165 

Ruminan'tia, 

the, . 

65 

Runes, 


95 

Rupee, a, 

• • 

182 

Russell, Earl, 


141 

Rus'sia, 17 ; 

capital 



of, 18 ; Asiatic, 19; 
style of reckoning 


the year in, . . 70 

Rust in iron, cause 
of, , . 29,30 

Rvbats of a building, 
the, . . .162 


Rye, . 

53 

Sabbath, origin of the 


word, . 

73 

Sackville, Thomas, 

118 

Sacred canon, the, 

77 

Sae'mund the Wise, 

95 

Sa'gas, the, 

95 

Sagitta'rius, . 

10 

St Andrew, 

99 

— Andrew’s Day, 

99 

— Anthony of Padua, 

99 

- the Great 

99 

— Augustine, . 

99 

— Basil, 

99 

— Benedict, . 

99 

— David, . 

99 

— David’s Day, 

99 

— Denis, . 

99 

— Domin'go, . 

21 

— Francis of Paula, 

99 

— Genevieve, . 

99 

— George, . 

99 

-and the 


Dragon, story of, 


100; howcoinmem- 


orated, 

160 

‘ St George for Merry 


England,’ . 

100 

St George’s Channel, 

19 

-Day, 

99 

— Giles, 

99 

— Janua'rius, 

99 

— John, Henrv, . 

125 

— Lawrence, the river, 16 

— Lou'is, the town, 

21 

— Martin of Tours, 

99 

— Patrick, 

99 

— Patrick's Day,. 

99 

— Petersburg, 

18 

— Pierre, . 

106 


TAGE 

Saints’ Days, . . 99 

-of the middle 

ages, ... 99 

Saints, patron, . 99 

Salaman'ders, . 97 

Sales, Francis de, 104 
Salis'bury, . . 18 

Sal'lust, * 91 

Salt, made from sea¬ 
water, ... 16 

Salvator Rosa, . 147 

Sand, George, . 107 

Sandstone, . . 22 

Sanscrit language, the, 76 
Sap'pho, ... 84 

Saracenic architecture— 
160 

Satellites, 4 ; what 
they are, 5; their 
number, . . 5 

Saturday, origin of 
the name, . . 72 

Sat'urn, the planet, 2; 
colour of, 3; satel¬ 
lites of, . . 5 

Sau'ria, the, . 63 

Scanso'res, the, 63; 

examples of, . 64 

Schiller, . . 110 

Schelling, . . 110 

Schlegel, . . 110 

Schleiermacher, . Ill 

Scholastics, the, . 94 

Schools of painting, 145 
Science, men eminent 
in, 1760 to 1800, . 136 
Scor'pio, the sign, 10 
Scotch School of Phi- 
losophy, the, . 136 

Scotland, 18; its lead¬ 
ing divisions, 18; 
its islands, 18; its 
chief towns, 18, 

19; its lochs, 19; 
patron saint of, 99 ; 
supreme civil court 
in, ... 175 

Scotland, Church of. 

(See Church.) 

Scott, Sir Michael, . 116 

-, Sir Walter, 139 

Scottish architecture, 161 

-Border, the, 19 

-- dialect, .. 114 

-law, . 175 

-literature, re¬ 
vival of, in the 18th 
century, . . 129 

Scottish music, . 165 

■-painter, the 

earliest, . . 150 

Scottish painters, dis¬ 
tinguished, . . 150 


205 


PAGE 

Scottish philosophers, 
the more noted, . 136 
Scottish poets, 1727— 
1760, 127 ; of the 
second half of the 
18th century, 135; 
in the early part of 
the 19th century, 140 
Scottish writers, lan¬ 
guage employed by 
the early, li5; to 
the reign of James 
VI., 116; writers, 

1727 to 1760, 127; 

1760 to 1800, 130— 

137 ; of the 19th 
century, . 137—143 

Screw, the, . . 47, 49 

Scripture, the canon 
of, ... 77 

Scripture*, . . 77 

(See Bible.) 

Scudery, Mademoi¬ 
selle de, . .104 

Sculpture, how prac¬ 
tised, 152; among 
the ancients, 152; 
superiority of 

Greek, to what as¬ 
cribed, 152; in bas- 
relief, 153; in alto- 
relievo, 153 ; Ro¬ 
man, 154; revived 
in Italy, . . 154 

Sea, the law of juris¬ 
diction over the, . 17 

Seas, examples of, 12 
Sea-sand, how formed, 23 
Seasons, change of 

the, how caused, 7, 8 
Sea-water, nature of, 

16 ; where it 

freezes, 33; the ice 
of not so salt as the 


water, . . 

33 

Sea-weeds, . . 

52 

Seceders, 

172 

Secondary planets, 

5 

Sedimentary rocks, 

22 

Sedley, Sir Charles, 

121 

Seeds of plants. (See 


Plants.) 


Seine, the river, 

16 

Selden, John, 

120 

Semitic languages, 


the, 

76 

Sempill of Beltrees, 

127 

Sen'eca, . 

91 

Sensation, the centre 


of, ... 

68 

Senses, the,. 

68 

September, origin of 


the name, . 

72 


















206 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS, 


PAGE 

Septidi, the day, 

73 

Septuagint, the, . 

78 

Serfdom,. . . 

68 

Seven Champions of 


Christendom, the, 

99 

Seven wise men of 


Greece, the,. 

83 

Seven wonders of the 


world, the, . 

91 

Severn, the river, 

16 

Sevigne, Madame de, 

104 

Sextidi, the day, 

73 

Shaftesbury, Earl of 


(the third), . 

126 

Shannon, the river, 

16 

Shakspeare, William, 

119 

Shaster, the, , 

80 

Sheffield, 

18 

Shelley, Percy Bysshe— 

1 

Shells, univalve, 61; 


bivalve, . . 

61 

Shenstone, William, 

128 

Sheridan, Richard 


Brinsley, . 

131 

Sherlock, 

123 

Shet'land Isles, 

18 


Shield in heraldry, 
the, . . . 130 

Shilling, origin of the 
word, . » . 181 

Shooting-stars, . 44 

Siddons, Mrs, . . 135 

Sidereal day, a, . 75 

Sidney, Sir Philip, 118,119 
Siliceous rocks, . 24 

Silk, a bad electric 
conductor, . . 40 

Silk-worm, the, 62; 

how it spins, . 62 

Silu'rian rocks, 23; 

why so called, . 23 

Sir'ius, the star, . 4 

Sismondi, . . 107 

Situation of places 
on the globe, how 
found out, 14; how 
defined, . . 14 

Skin, colour in the, 
an effect of circum¬ 
stances, 68; nature 
of the, ... 68 

Skinner, Rev. John, 127 
Slate, ... 22 

Slave, a, 67 

Smart, Christopher, 131 
Smelting, . . 24 

Smith, Adam, . 134, 183 

• -, Charlotte, . 133 

• -, Horace, . 140 

-, James, . 140 

-, Rev. Sydney— 

137, 139 


PAGE 

Smollett, Tobias George— 


129 

Smugglers, 

184 

Snow, what it is, 32 ; 


its use, 33; tops of 


high mountains, 


why perpetually 


covered with, 

34 

Snow-flakes, 

29 

Snorri Sturleson, . 

95 

Snyders, 

148 

Soap, . . 28 

29 

Social amelioration, 

184 

Society for the Dif- 


fusion of Useful 


Knowledge, 

142 

Soc'rates,86; doctrines 


of, 86; fate of. 

86 

Socratic method of 


reasoning, . 

86 

Sodor and Man, Bi- 


shop of, why so 


called, . 

168 

Soil, substances found 


in the, . . . 

24 

Solar day, a, 

75 

- system, the, . 

2 

Solder, tinsmith’s, 

27 

So'lon, 

S3 

Somerville, William, 

128 

Sophistry, origin of 


the term, 

87 

Sophists, the, 

86 

Soph'oclos, . . 

84 

Sorbon, Robert, . 

103 

Sorbonne, the, 

103 

Soul, immortality of, 

68 

Sound, what it is, 


37 ; its rate of 


speed, 37; how best 


conducted, . 

37 

South, Dr Robert, 

123 

Southampton, 

18 

Southern Cross, the 


constellation, 

3 

Southern Ocean, the, 

12 

Southey, Robert, . 

138 

Southwell, . 

119 

Spagnoletto, . 

149 

Spain, 17 ; capital of, 

18 

Spanish literature, 

102 

- school of 


painting, two great 


masters of the, . 

149 


Speaker of the House 
of Commons, the, 169 
Species, what meant 
by, 58 ; instance of 
a slight exception 
to the rule of, 58; 
why important to 
preserve pure each 
variety of, . . 5S 


PAGE 

Specific gravity, . 54 

Spectator, the, 124, 125 
Spenser, Edmund, . 118 
Spenserian stanza, 
the, . . 82,119 

Spiders, 63 ; legs.of, 63, 
Spinning insects, . 62 

Spinoza, . . 112 

Spirits, from what 
prepared, . . 53 

Spirits of the elements, 97 
Sponge, what it is, 60 
Sponges, 60; where 
chiefly found, . 60 

Spontaneous produc¬ 
tion, no, 59 ; ex¬ 
ploded notions con¬ 
cerning, . 59, GO 

Spore, a, 52; differ¬ 
ence between a 
seed and a, 52; 
spores,how diffused 
by nature, . . 52 

Spottiswood, John, 117 
Sprat, Dr Thomas, . 123 
Spring-balance, a, 43 

-tide, a, . 16 

Springs, mineral, 26; 
chalybeate, 26 ; fer¬ 
ruginous, 26; oil, 26 
Spurzheim, . . 110 

‘ Sta'bat ma'ter,’ the, 163 
Stael, Madame de, 106 
Staf'fa, ... 22 

Stagyrite, the, . 85 

Staining glass, the 
art of, . . . 152 

Stamens of a plant, 51 
Stanfield, . . 150 

Stars, the, what they 
are, 2; how distin¬ 
guished from pla¬ 
nets, 2, 3; fixed, 3; 
how arranged, 3; 
why not seen by 
day, 3 ; the largest 
and brightest of the, 


4; shooting, . 44 

Stationer, origin of 

the term, . . 80 

Steele, Sir Richard, 125 
Steelyard, the, . 48 

Steen, Jan, . . 14S 


Stephenson, Robert, 187 
Sterling, what meant 
by, 181; origin 
of, . . . 181 

Sterne, Laurence, 132 
Stewart, Dr Dugald, 136 
Stilling, . . .111 

Stillingfleet, . 123 

Stock Exchange, the, 183 
Stock'holm, . . 18 













INDEX, 


207 


* PAGE 

Stoical philosophy, 
nature of the, . 87 

Stoics, the, . . 87 

Stonehenge, . . 178 

Stones, rounded, found 
in beds of rivers, how 
produced, . . 23 

Stowe, Mrs, . . 143 

Stra'bo, , . . 89 

Strait, a, 14 

Strange, Sir Robert, 157 
Stratified rocks, 21; 

names of, . , 22 

Stra'tus, the cloud, 34 
Strauss, . . . Ill 

Strawberry Hill, 132 
Suck-giving animals, 63 
Suckling, Sir John, 119 
Sue, Eugene, . . 107 

Sully, . . . 104 

Sun,the centre of the 
solar system, 2; its 
size, 5 ; explana¬ 
tion of its apparent 
rising and setting, 

6, 7; in the meri¬ 
dian, 7; eclipse of 
the, how caused, 

11; annular eclipse 
of the, 11 ; the 
source of light, 38 ; 
why in some fine 
climates it becomes 
suddenly cold when 


the sun sets, . 38 

Sunday, origin of the 
name, ... 72 

Sun-dials, . . 75 

Suns, ... 2 

Supe'rior, lake, . 16 

Superstition, . . 98 


Supporters in heraldry- 
180 

Surgeon, origin of the 


word, . . . 186 

Surgery, . . 186 

Surrey, Earl of, . 115 
Swe'den and Nor'way, 

17; capital of, . 18 

Swift, Jonathan, . 125 

Switzerland, 17; capi¬ 
tal of, . . . 18 

Sylphs,... 98 

Syr'ia, 20; for what 
remarkable, . . 20 

Tac'itus, ... 93 

Talmud, the, . 77 

Talmudists, . . 77 

Tannahill, Robert, 140 

Tarantu'la, the, . 63 

Targum, a, .78 

Tar'tary, . . 19 


PAGE 

Tasma'nia, . .. 12 

Tas'so, Torqua'to, 

101 

Tasso'ni, . 

102 

Tatler, the, . 124, 

125 

Tau'rus, . 

10 

Tay, the river, 

16 

Taylor, Jeremy, 

120 

-, John, 

121 

Teak, the, 

55 

Telescope, the, 

40 

Telford, Thomas, . 
Temperate zones, 9; 
why of moderate 

187 

temperature, 

9 

Temple, Sir William, 
Teniers, David, the 

123 

Younger, 

148 

Tennant, William, 

140 

Tennyson, Alfred, 

142 

Terburgh, 

Ter'ence, 

148 

90 

Tertul'lian, 

94 

Thackeray, W. M., 

141 

Tha'les, . 

83 

Thames, the river, 

16 

Thaumaturgist, a, . 

99 

Theoc'ritus, . 

88 

Theophras'tus, 

86 

Therapeutics, 

186 


Thermidor, the month, 73 
Thermometer, the, 30; 

scales of, . 30, 31 

Thes'pis, . . 81 

Thiers, . . . 107 

Thomas a Kempis, 95 

- Aqui'nas, . 95 

Thomson, James, 127 

-, Rev. John, 150 

Thorwaldsen, Bertel, 155 
Thrush, the, . . 64 

Thucyd'ides, . 88 

Thunder, ... 41 

Thursday, origin of 
the name, . . 72 

Tibul'lus, . . 91 

Tickell, . . . 126 

Tide, a neap, 16; a 
spring, 16; a sea 
noted for very little, 17 
Tides, nature of the, 

16; cause of the, . 16 

Tieck, . . . Ill 

Tillotson,. . . 123 

Timber-trees, . 55 

Time, divisions of, 

69; mean, . . 75 

Tinctures in heraldry, 180 
Tinsmith’s solder, . 27 

Tintoretto, . . 146 

Titian, . . . 146 

Toads, early condi¬ 
tion of, . . 63 

Tocqueville, De, . 107 


PAGR 

Tornadoes, . , 36 

Toron'to, . . 21 

Torricelli, . . 102 

Torrid zone, 9; why 
the warmest region, & 
Towers, round, . 179 

Trade, contraband, 

184; free, 184; 
protection in, . 184 

Trade-winds, . 36 

Tragedy,’ 81; ‘ the 
father of, . . 84 

Transcendentalism, 109 
Transmigration of 
souls, author of the 
doctrine of the, . 85 

Trapas'si, . . 102 

Trees, evergreen, 54; 
deciduous, 54; ex¬ 
ogenous, 54 ; en¬ 
dogenous, 55; fruit, 

55; valuable for 
their timber, 55; 
valuable for general 
purposes, 55; valu¬ 
able for their bark, 

55; the tallest known,55 
Trial by jury, . .175 

Tridi, the day, . 73 

Trollope, Anthony, 140 

•-, Mrs, . . 141 

Tropic of Cancer, . 8 

-Capricorn, 8 

Troubadours ,’ 1 the last 
of the, . . . 107 

Tubers, 53; exami>les 
of, ... 54 

Tuesday, origin of the 
name, . . 72 

Tur'key, 17; capital of, 

18; Asiatic, . .19 

Turner, . . 150 

Tweed, the river, . 16 

Twilight, . . SS 

Tympanum of a build¬ 
ing, the, . . 162 

Tyndale, William, 78 
Tyne, the river, . 16 

Uhland, . . .111 

Un'dines, . . 98 

United Presbyterians, 172 
- States of Ame¬ 
rica, 20 ; seat of 
government of, . 21 

Univalve shells, 61; 

example of, . . 61 

Universe, ancient 
teaching respecting 
the structure of the, 81 
University a, 185; 

degrees in a, 186, 187 
Unstratified rocks, 21; 










208 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


PAGE 

general character 
of, . . 22 

U'ranus, the planet, 2 
Ur'sa Ma'jor, the con¬ 
stellation, . . 3 

Utopian, origin of 
the term, . . 115 

Valleys, . .It 

Vanbrugh, . . 126 

Van tier Palm, . 112 

-de Velde, . 148 

-Dyck, Anthony, 148 

-Lennep, . .112 

Var'ro, . . 90 

Vattel, . . . 172 

Vauban, . . 105 

Ve'das, the, . . 80 

Vegetable creation, 50 
(See Plants, Trees.) 
Vegetable kingdom, 50 
(See Plants , Trees.) 
Vegetables most 

directly serviceable 
to man, . . 53 

Vehicles, why so 
easily upset when 
loaded high, . 47 

Velasquez, . . 149 

Velde, Van de, . 148 
Vendemiaire, the 
month,... 73 

Venetian school of 
painting, leading 
painters of the, . 146 
Ventose, the month, 73 
Ve'nus de Medici, 
the, . . . 154 

Venus, the planet, 2 ; 

colour of, . 3 

Vernets, the, 147 

Veronese, Paul, . 146 
Verse, blank, . 82 

Vertebra'ta, the, 58, 63; 

how classified, . 63 

Vespertil'io, . 66 

Vespucci, Amerigo, 20 
Yesu'vius, Mount, 26 
Vien'na, . . .18 

Vinci, Leonardo da, 145 
Vine, 55; country of 
the, ... 55 

Vir'gil, . . 92 

Vir'go, the sign, . 10 

Vision, the principle 
of, ... 39 

* Vis medica'trix na- 

tu'rte,’ . . . 186 

Vitrifaction, . 29 

Vitru'vius, . 92, 159 

Viviparous animals, 58 

Volcanic islands, . 26 

• -rocks, . 22 


PAGE 


Volcano, origin of 


the term, 

26 

Volcanoes, 25; their 


number, 26 ; in 


Europe, 26; where 


most numerous. 


26; in the sea, 26; 


extinct, 

26 

Volga, the river, . 

16 

Voltaire, . 

1C6 

Volume, origin of the 


word, . . . 

79 

Vondel, 

112 

Von Raumer, . 

111 

Vul'can, 

26 

Vulgate, the, . 

78 

Vultures, peculiar 


faculty of, . 

57 

Wagner, 

Wales, 18; its gen¬ 

111 

eral character, 18; 


patron saint of, . 

99 

Waller, Edmund, 

121 

Walpole, Horace, 

132 

Walton, Izaak, . 

122 

War, contraband of, 


172; prisoners of, 

172 

Ward, the painter, 

150 

Warton, Thomas, . 

130 


Washington, the city 
of, ... 11 

Water, extent of the, 

12 ; the, how 
divided, 12 ; at 
what temperature 
most dense, 31 ; 
expansion of, ex¬ 
emplified, 31; tem¬ 
perature at which it 
boils, how affected 
by atmospheric 
pressure, 35; heat 
at which it boils at 
the top of Mont 
Blanc, 35; why it 
boils at a lower 
heat at the top of 
a high hill, 35 ; 
how affected by the 
attraction of gra¬ 
vitation, 44, 45 ; 
how supplied to 
towns, 45; height 
to which it will 
rise, 45; pressure 
of, on what it de¬ 
pends, 45; buoyant 
power of, on what 
it depends, . . 45 

(See Sea-water.) 
Waterford, . , 19 

Water-pump, . 35 


PACK 

Water-spouts,. . 36 

Watson, Dr Richard, 133 
Watt, James, . . 136 

Watteau,’147 ; ‘after- 147 
Watts, Dr Isaac, . 128 

Wax, a bad electric 
conductor, . . 40 

Weapons, stone, cop¬ 
per, and iron, 17 7, 178 
Weber, . . .163 

Webster, Dr Noah, 143 
Wedge, the, . 47, 49 

Wedgewood, Josiah, 156 
Wednesday, origin of 
the name, . . 72 

Week, a, 72; origin 
of the English 
names of the days 
of the, ... 72 

(See Days.) 

Weeks, substitute for 
in the French re¬ 
volutionary-calendar, 73 
Weight, ... 43 

Wellingto'nea Gi- 
gan'tea, the, . 56 

Werner, . . 136 

Wernerian theory, 
the, . . . 137 

West, Benjamin, 150 
Western Isles, . 13 

West Indies, 19 ; 
what meant by the, 

21; situation of the, 21 
Wetting, meaning of, 45 
Wheat, 53; principal 
use of, ... 53 

Wheel and axle, the, 

47; examples of, . 49 

Whirlpools, . . 17 

White garments, why 
worn in hot coun¬ 
tries, . . .31 

White, Henry Kirke, 140 
Wickliffe, John, . 111 

Wight, Isle of, . 18 

Wilberforce, William, 13+ 
Wilkie, Sir David, . 150 
Wilkins, Dr John, 123 
Wilson, Alexander, 135 

-,John, . 140 

Winchester, . 13 

Winckleman, . .Ill 
Windows, moisture 
on the inside of, 
how caused, , 32 

Wolcot, Dr John, 131 
Wolf, the philologist, 111 
Wonders of the 

world, the seven, 94 
Wood-engraving, . 157 

Wool, a bad electric 
conductor, . . 40 








INDEX 


TAGF. 

Woollen garments do 
net give warmth, 31 
Woolsack, the, . 169 

Words employed in 
speaking English, 

113; employed in 
writing English, 

113 ; from the 
Anglo-Saxon and 
Latin having the 
same meaning, ex¬ 
amples of, 113 ; 
from the Latin, 
writers noted for 
the profuse use 
of, 113; effect of 
their use in com¬ 
position, 113 ; in 
the English lan¬ 
guage, number of, 

113 ; the deriva¬ 
tion of, where 
treated of, . . 113 


FAGE 

Wordsworth, Wil¬ 
liam, . . . 138 

World, map of the, 

13; largest river 
in the, 15; popula¬ 
tion of the, 21; the 
New, 20; its dis¬ 
coverers, 20; the 
seven wonders of 
the, 94; number of 
languages in the, 76 

(See Earth.) 

Wotton, Sir Henry, 119 
Wouvermans, 148, 149 
Wren, Sir Chris¬ 
topher, . . 161 

Wyatt, Sir Thomas, 115 
Wyntoun, Andrew, 116 

Xen'ophon, , 86, 88 

Xenoph'anes, . 88 

‘Yankee Doodle,’ . 165 


209 - 


PAGE 

Year, a, defined, 69 ; 
a solar, 69; the 
Egyptian, 69; the 
Greek, 69 ; the 
Roman, 69; a leap-, 

70 ; a civil, 70 ; 
when begun by the 
ancients, 70; New 
Year’s Day, . . 71 

York, ... 13 

Zendaves'ta, the, . 80 

Zend language, . 80 

Ze'no, . . 87, 88 


Zero, . 

30 

Zodiac, the, 10 ; 


signs of the, 10; 


use of the signs, . 

10 

Zones, the, . 

9 

Zoology, defined, . 

56 

Zoophytes, . . 

60 

Zoroas'ter, 

80 

Zschokke, . 

111 


THE END. 


\ 


Edinburgh: 

Trinted by W. and It. Chambers, 








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